The Choices We Make
by whereinthewrld
Summary: It only takes one afternoon for a person's life to change completely. Meet Addy, a fifteen year old hunter who thought she knew how to handle herself...Until she met the Wincherters. *Not exactly a sister fic, but pretty close* Rated T for Language
1. Just Another City

**A/N: This is my first ever story, so I'd appreciate any feed back you could give me, it would really help me in the future.**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Supernatural**

* * *

"_I seldom end up where I wanted to go, but almost always end up where I need to be.__"_

"Do you mind?" The middle aged, angry women asked with distain.

"Sorry," muttered Addy. Like she'd actually meant to hit the lady when she'd moved. The bus was tiny, well, tinier then Addy would have liked. Even for a five foot tall, skinny little thing, she needed more leg room.

Not that the sorry really mattered. Angry lady just gave her a nasty look before looking forward again.

Yes, the bus had plenty of empty seats. But no, Addy wasn't allowed to move. Angry lady had looked at her ticket, her seat assignment printed on it, and realized she was seated next to Addy, and the first question out of her mouth had been, "Aren't you a little young to be traveling by yourself?"

No. No she wasn't. Not that Angry Lady was of the same opinion. Regardless of the numerous stops the bus had taken, Addy hadn't changed seats. If she had, she was worried about attracting more attention to herself. There was no doubt in her mind that this lady, in addition to being a cold hearted bitch, was too curious for her own good.

Instead Addy had stayed put, anxiously shifting whenever her impatience got the better of her. Three hours without her IPod, her cell phone, or anyone to talk to were taking their toll on her. Her iPod had died hours ago, and with it so had her patience. If Addy had thought about it she really should have charged it last night. She looked at her cell phone, stupid thing. No messages, Riley, her roommate was in class; and Jase, her best friend, well he was off doing his thing. Damn this sucked.

Yep, that was enough of doing absolutely frigging nothing. Irritation getting the best of her, Addy leaned forward and grabbed her backpack. She reached inside before pulling out the thick, hard purple plastic Sony laptop form its case. Kicking her backpack back under the seat Addy opened the computer and turned it on. A Christmas gift from her brother, the laptop was not only her favorite color, but also equipped with a wireless internet card. The aircard was a blessing!

Fingers tapping against the key board, Addy sat staring at the window, waiting for the computer to start up. Miles of farm land, and pasture after pasture passed by. They all looked so normal, so quaint. But Addy knew better. Normal was simply a state of mind, not a state of being.

When the start up sound from her computer finally chimed, Addy let out a sigh of relief. Patience might be a virtue, but it was a virtue Addy did not have. Her fingers navigated against the mouse pad and brought the mouse to rest on top of the Mozilla FireFox icon and double clicked. Firefox, one of the many things her old boyfriend Ryan had introduced her to. So much better than Internet Explorer.

Thirty seconds of typing later and Addy had the distance from Fairmont, West Virginia, to the last town the bus had passed. The news was less then satisfying. In fact it was downright irritating; or 'irkitating' as Jase called things like this.

Addy hit her head against the cold glass of the bus's window. Three hours. How the _heck_ did she still have three freaking hours left on the bus?

A small, angry growl escaped her lips as Addy shoved her laptop back into its case, then the case back into her bag. Evil Lady gave Addy another nasty look as she ran a hand through her reddish auburn hair.

"_Should I just stop breathing?"_ Addy wondered. "_Would that make her happy?"_

Either way Addy didn't care. She was tired, she wanted a nap. Closing her green eyes Addy pressed her head against the finger print covered glass. A sense of calm washed over her cold, stiff body. Would Uncle John be okay with her just showing up? Would he even want to see her again?

Their last encounter hadn't exactly been peaches and cream. Actually, it had kinda sucked ass. More than three years later Addy can still picture the ringing pain in her butt with precise detail.

Still, even being a hunter born and bred, with both her parents in the business, Addy wasn't up for everything. She knew when she needed help, and right now she needed her uncle. She wanted Uncle John!

Cody, her older brother, was an option, an option she hadn't even considered. It had been a year, well a little more, since they'd last talked. And he'd kill her in an instant if he knew she was hunting alone. Well, not alone. She had Riley… Not that she thought that would matter too much.

Uncle John was the type of person to come in guns a blazing, taking out anything evil with no questions asked. Something Addy had every intention of using against him.

Addy, closed her eyes shut tightly, and allowed the darkness to consume her as she drifted off to sleep.

**O~O~O~O~O~O~O**

"Well this place sucks ass." Addy mumbled to herself as she eyed the white peeling paint. The parking lot was littered with cracks and pot holes. The flowers that had been planted around the entrance a million years ago were dead; discarded piles of half melted snow were piled randomly around the parking lot. Addy cautiously made her way into the parking lot, avoiding the precariously tilting sign that declared the place _The Breakers Motel_.

Yeah, this was _exactly_ where she had wanted to spend her weekend. The sarcasm dripped off the words like melting icicles in her mind. She was in the middle of nowhere tracking down her long lost uncle because she was too incompetent to do a job herself. And the job hadn't been easy, that's for sure. For some odd reason Uncle John was not answering his phone. Thanks to a little mumbo jumbo and a twitch of her nose, Addy used the GPS in his disposable phone to track down Uncle John. It was a hunter thing to use disposable phones; it made it easier to be off the grid with a phone that was hard to trace.

Hunting wasn't exactly a 'pro-ball career.' Addy'd grown up in third rate motels, but this place… But she absolutely couldn't see how anyone in their right mind would willingly spend any time in this place. It probably didn't even have hot water!

There were only three cars in the entire frigging parking lot. Looking around the place she saw a newish Ford explorer: definitely not something Uncle John would be driving. There was a beaten up Honda Civic, and Addy's favorite car in the entire world, a 1967 Chevy Impala.

A smile consumed Addy's face. There was no way to describe her feelings as she made her way over to the car, her uncle's car, his prize possession. She loved the thing, and in some weird, strange way, she knew it loved her too. It was the one thing about her uncle that had been a constant through Addy's childhood, where ever he went, so did this car.

Her fingers reached out, gently streaking the delicate black paint with their tips. Addy's smile widened as her eyes glinted in longing.

The door to room 112 opened so silently Addy didn't realize it until she heard the voices. Looking up she noticed a dirty blond, shaggy haired boy walking out of the room. He was tall, much taller than Addy with visible muscles and a serious look on his face.

"Adam," a voice from inside of the room called. "Don't forget the pie!"

The boy, Adam, chuckled. "How could I forget the pie Dean?" He asked, turning around to face the car, keys in hand.

His blue eyes met Addy's with confusion. He was older than her, but not by much.

"Uh, hi…" He trailed off, looking the small girl up and down. "Can I… Can I help you?"

"Yeah…" Her singsongy voice chirped as one of her hands slipped into her sweatshirt to finger the knife hidden within. The other curled around her backpack's strap as she forced a calming smile to her lips before finishing, "I'm looking for someone."

"Okay, well-" Adam's abrupt response was cut off by the appearance of another man, this time one much older than Addy.

The similarities between the two men… Guys… People… Were evident. Both had similar facial structures, similar body structure, musculature is what Riley would call it. However, unlike 'Adam' the older guy, Dean, Addy had heard him called, had green eyes and short hair.

"Adam? What are you doing?" Dean asked, in a rough voice; rough, not raspy. She wasn't sure why she noticed this and thought about the difference. For some reason it seemed to be important.

Dean's eyes drifted from Adam, to Addy, then to the car. Why was this girl touching his car? She was a friggin' classic! No onehad the right to touch her! Well, no one except family, or those with explicit permission. Which at the moment outside of Sam and Adam , well maybe Bobby too, was no one.

"Who the hell is this?" Dean demanded from Adam.

"I dunno Dean. She was here when I got out to the car. Says she's looking for someone." He shrugged. She didn't seem too special, just an average teenager. In an average small town, nothing different than anywhere else they'd been.

Unlike Adam, Dean noticed the girl's stance. She was balanced perfectly on the balls of her feet, prepared to run if she sensed danger. No normal kid would do that. "Who ya looking for?" Dean grunted at her.

"My uncle," She muttered, refusing to meet the man's eyes. Gesturing to the car, Addy cleared her throat. "He, um, owns this car."

"What's his name?" Dean's hackles rose, just like a dog. The hair on the back of his neck rose up and his nostrils flared and he was ready for anything.

"John," Addy cleared her throat and readjusted her stance. "John Winchester. You know him?"

"I call bull!" Dean growled, stalking towards the girl before she could run. "What the hell are you? Demon? Angel? Someone stupid enough to think we'd fall for this shit?"

Narrowing her eyes as she stepped back, Addy didn't even bother to respond.

"How do you guys keep finding us?" He hissed as he continued to towards the girl. She stumbled backwards, her eyes to fixated on Dean not noticing the figure coming up behind her.

By the time Addy noticed the wall behind her, she had already backed into it. But it wasn't a wall, Addy realized after stealing a quick glance behind her. It was a man. A very big, shaggy haired man.

"Dean, what the hell are you…?" The wall began.

"Stay out of this Sam!" Dean yelled, walking towards Addy once again.

"Ya know what?" Addy began with a small, forced laughed and a thumb pointed over her shoulder. "I think I'm just gonna go!" Uncle John was obviously not here, and the three stooges obviously had issues.

"I don't think so, sister," Dean said with a smirk. "You're not going anywhere."

"About that…" She stepped back again, away from the wall called Sam, away from Dean, and away from Adam.

Dean wasn't gonna let her get away. He lunged forward, reaching for the girl's arm.

Addy was ready; she'd seen the tenseness in 'Dean's' body. The training she'd gotten at her family's knees paid off and she rotated on the balls of her feet, the young girl barely managed to doge Dean's out stretched hand. She didn't think, she didn't hesitate, she took off, sprinting away from these strangers and towards freedom.

A curse erupting from somewhere behind her, and the pounding sound of running feet warned Addy that at least one person was chasing after her.

She'd get away, she knew it. But first she'd have to find a way out of this maze. Addy glanced quickly around the darkened streets, determined to find an exit. Maybe there would be a side street, or a store she could easily duck into and disappear. But there weren't squat. Time was running out, and she was out of options.

A small alley between two buildings was her only saving grace. She ran towards it, letting her legs carry her through the entrance. A street was on the other side, people, buildings, safety!

The only thing stopping Addy from her escape was a fifteen foot tall chain link fence in the middle of the alley. No big deal, right? She'd climbed the rope in gym-class more than once. Only she didn't usually have a time limit at Lexington Academy.

Whatever, she'd have to deal, realized Addy as she lunged at the fence. She hoisted herself up, three, four, five feet before something tugged on her backpack. The force was strong, the pulling was forceful and no matter how much Addy shook or shimmied it wouldn't subside. The tugging got forceful, and Addy got angry.

"Let go!" She screeched and lashed her leg out until it hit the object, person, with a loud thud. "Leg-go!"

A sharp intake of breath, a weight was lifted, and Addy was freed. Without a second thought she continued up the fence, flipping over the top before hitting the ground. But she couldn't stop running, not until she reached somewhere safe.

By the time Addy stopped, she was completely out of breath. She bent forward, resting her hands on her knees as she breathed deeply and thought hard. It didn't matter who those guys were, even they weren't stupid enough to try anything in such a public place.

"Okay Addy," She thought to herself. "Let's think this through. Uncle John's still missing, we're in a strange town with fricking weirdos chasing us and the worst possible thing to do would be to stay put. Last thing you want to be is a sitting duck."

Stretching Addy stood up, shrugging off her backpack as she did so. She unzipped the bag and shoved a hand inside, determined to find her wallet.

A trip from West Virginia back up to Boston wasn't exactly cheap; she needed to see how much cash she had. In order to stay below the radar; most hunters subsisted on mostly cash. There were a few that had figured out ways scam credit companies so that they weren't living off daily employment and what cash they could pick up quickly.

It wasn't until her hand found the hole at the bottom of the knapsack that Addy realized what happened.

When her backpack was grabbed it must have ripped, created a hole large enough for her wallet to fall out of but small enough to keep most everything else inside. The wallet was expensive; a designer brand she had been given as a present after too many cheap wallets had flaked out on her. The ironic thing was that the actual wallet was worth more than the money she had inside.

"Calm down," She instructed herself. "Everything inside is untraceable. The IDs were all forged, my student ID card wasn't even in there. Doesn't change the fact that I'm now out $200 and a freakin' expensive wallet!"

There was no doubt in Addy's mind that the tugging had caused the hole in her bag. The thing was old; well, old for a backpack anyway. Addy knew she should have replaced it sooner rather than later; but she just didn't have the heart. They'd been through so much together. Sentimental attachment is what Cody called it.

What's done is done, she reminded herself as she reached a hand into the back pocket of her jeans and removed her spare (fake) ID, credit card, and the two twenty-dollar bills rubber-banded together.

Never keep all your money or IDs in one place, it was a lesson she had learned from a young age. Cody had given the credit card to her just over a year ago. It had been a final gesture signifying how serious he was about leaving Addy at boarding school. He wasn't coming back; she was financially, emotionally and physically responsible for herself now. She was an adult (even if the state didn't recognize her as one).

"Remember, only for emergencies," He had said before putting his big blue pick up into drive and leaving the Lexington Academy parking lot.

Emergency… This was definitely an emergency.

She stretched out a hand, hailing a cab before getting in. Addy was pretty sure she had enough cash to get her to the airport; the driver might not get a tip though.

"Can you take me to the nearest airport?" She asked sweetly. Buses were out. After the drive there she was pretty sure another ride in one would make her officially and completely insane.

"No problem sweetie," The cabdriver said, pulling away from West Virginia, away from the Impala, and away from the strangers.


	2. Not So Silent Night

"_Consider how hard it is to change yourself and you'll understand what little chance you have in trying to change others.__"_

**Riley: Addy's roommate**

"Adds!" Riley whispered in an overly loud voice that echoed through the stacks of books. "Adds," She hissed when her friend didn't look up.

"Whaaaaat?" Addy flipped through the pages of her Latin book as she answered her roommate. No sense in looking up as she scribbled down a set of words into her spiral note book.

"We gotta go… Like now!" Riley grabbed her roommates arm and started tugging ferociously.

"Why? You forget to unplug your hair straightener again?"

"No… Probably… But that's not the point! I kinda maybe sorta accidentally downloaded a virus and we gotta go before The Evil Bitch finds out!"

"Only you Ri, only you," Addy sighed as she snuck the Latin book into her backpack. She had a stack of overdue library books the size of a baby elephant in her room; therefore, according to The Evil Bitch, as Riley called her, Addy wasn't allowed to check out any more books. So Addy did what Addy did best, she found a way to beat the system.

"Let's go!"

Riley shoved Addy through the aisles of books to the front entrance of the library before the yelling started. "Serves her right," Addy laughed as she threw her backpack over the metal detector and to her best friend.

"Don't we both know it," Riley snorted as she handed Addy back her bag and they took off running down the street.

"Stop laughing!" Addy smiled when they reached the entrance of their dorm.

"Can't help it!" Riley choked, resting a hand on Addy's blue blazer as she loosening her red and blue striped tie. Lexington's school colors, red and blue, Go Rams! Yeah, Addy didn't get it either. "Did you see the look on her face?"

"No," Chuckled Addy. "I was too busy watching your butt." She slapped her hand against her best friends butt before scanning her student ID card and opening the door.

Riley simply returned the slap and offered Addy a grin before flipping her dirty blonde hair in her friend's direction.

"Afternoon Mrs. Johnson," the girls called to the women seated behind the check in desk as they made their way to the stair case. Their house mother didn't look up from the latest issue of People Magazine.

Good stuff right there, Addy thought sarcastically. Celebrity weddings, sex scandals, diet plans. Bah!

Addy followed behind her roommate as the climbed to their floor. Riley, the ultimate social butterfly, was as outgoing as Addy was introverted. But together they made the perfect pair. Addy, with her long bright red hair, short temper and determined attitude was the exact opposite of Riley with her short, dirty blonde hair, chipper personality and easy smile.

There were eighty-five steps from the bottom floor to the fifth. The room Addy and Riley shared was twenty three feet down the hall before turning left and going down thirty seven feet. Addy measured the distance obsessively. Their door was the third on the right, a corner room which meant extra space. Space that both Addy and Riley really appreciated.

"Home sweet home," sighed Riley as she unlocked the door.

They hadn't run into anyone in the halls. Good, the last thing Addy wanted was a fight. Which tended to happen whenever they ran into someone from their floor; most people tolerated Addy and Riley letting them do what they want. But for some reason their floor was a different story. They'd complain whenever Riley was burning candles or any time Addy was playing her music too loud. To them, Addy was the stranger who appeared out of nowhere and Riley was the Wiccan with an attitude.

"I hate school," Riley complained as she plopped down onto her bed and removed her loafers, her tie, and her blazer. "Finals suck ass. I bet teachers just give them to us to make us suffer." She stuck her legs up in the air and placed her hands under her butt to warm them up.

"Ri," Sighed Addy as she shook her head and sat down on her unmade bed. "Finals aren't for months. Besides, maybe if you decided to, ya know, stay _awake _during class they'd be a little easier."

"Says the girl who has a big fat ZERO in Latin! That takes skill Adds, that takes mad skilz," Laughed Riley.

"Dr. Emerson said he'd pass me if I got an A on the final. Which woulda been a heck of a lot easier if the school woulda just let me test out of it in the first place…" She grumbled.

Yes, she was failing Latin. And gym… And English… But Latin wasn't like the other classes that Lexington's made her suffer through. Addy loved the dead language. She loved the power behind the words. And as a hunter, knowing the language was practically a requirement. And because of that, her brother and sister had begun to teach her it as soon as she had begun to talk.

As far as Gym and English… English sucked. The teacher hated her. Ever since Addy called Romeo and Juliet two horney teenage brats, they hadn't gotten along. And gym…She wouldn't give her gym teacher the satisfaction of seeing her in shorts. The guy was creepy.

In total, Addy had been to one of her Latin classes. She had met the teacher, she had seen the syllabus for the year, she had laughed, and then she had walked out. Even with no homework grades, no class work participation and no test grades, if she showed up, took the final and got an A, her teacher had agreed to let her pass the class.

"It's because you're so _unreasonably _attractive," Riley said facetiously. "They just want your pretty face around them."

"Shut up," Snapped Addy as she chucked a pillow at her best friend's legs.

Riley grabbed the pillow before dropping her legs and sitting up. "Oh Addy, that hurt. That hurt me emotionally and physically!" She barely dodged the second pillow that was thrown at her head. "That wasn't very nice!"

"Well, I'm not a nice person." Addy shrugged as she grinned at her friend.

"Soooo," Riley scooted closer to the edge of her bed. "I was thinkin'."

"Never a good sign," Addy commented.

"I know, but totally not the point. I could so go for Ben and Jerry's right now. I mean, we're being good, we just got back from the library, it's a Friday night and instead of going out partying we're staying in."

"That's it?" Addy laughed. "That's your brilliant revelation? It's nine-thirty at night, where the heck are you going to find ice cream?"

And that's when Riley dropped her lips, shaping them into a pout. Her hazel green eyes widened and all Addy could do was snort.

"You on the other hand are a brilliant individual who has awesome ice cream locating abilities." Riley started. "I'm sure if _you_ were to go looking for some it would take no time at all."

"You're freakin' laaaazy!" Addy said with a roll of her eyes.

"Pleeeeeeeeeease Adds!" Riley begged. "I'm really tired; besides, I wasn't kidding when I said you were the master at locating everyone's favorite frozen dairy confection."

"Suck up! Suck up, suck up, suuuuck up!" Addy shook her head. "And a really bad one at that! But I love you, so I'll do it." And, for once, I wanna be able to pick out what we're getting, she added to herself.

"Really? You're the best!" Riley exclaimed, jumping up to give Addy a hug; she hadn't expected her to give in.

"Sure, I'm the best when I agree to do things for you." Addy grumbled, standing up and grabbing a pair of jeans and a concert t-shirt that were discarded on the floor. "Just let me change. I understand the whole school uniform thing is coming back into style, but I'm just not feelin' it." She walked over to the bathroom. "And if I have to walk a freakin' mile this late to fulfill your weird-ass cravings, you're paying."

When Addy came out of the bathroom again she felt that she actually looked normal. No more knee length skirt, no more knee high socks, no more tie. Just a baby-doll shirt and skinny jeans. The outfit was complete after Addy laced up her purple Converse hi-tops. Standing up she tossed the balled up uniform onto her bed before turning to her best friend.

"Here ya go!" Riles skipped over to Addy and offering her two crumpled five dollar, a sweat shirt and a smile. "Feel free to pick up something else with the extra money," Riley nodded before walking back over to her bed.

"Thanks Mom," Addy laughed as she put on the black sweatshirt. "Be back in fifteen, twenty minutes tops."

She opened the door, shutting it softly behind her. Music blasted behind closed doors, giggling echoed down and Addy made her way down the stairs and out of the dorm, thankful that the one person who really understood her was sitting in her room.

"It's getting too dangerous for us to stay together Addy! The seals are breaking!" Cody had told her last year when he had dropped her off at boarding school and giving her strict orders to stay outta trouble. She had never figured out what he had meant by seals, and she had mostly stayed out of trouble. Most of the time.

But really? A new school, alone, in the middle of the year? She was bound to get in to trouble. Cody had thrown Addy's bags in a small pile on her bed before giving her a hug and getting back in his truck. The introduction to her roommate, signing up for classes, the mandatory orientation to Lexington Academy were all things she had done alone.

Addy wasn't use to the idea of being stuck in the same place for a long period of time; in general the hunting lifestyle was wicked nomadic. The idea of sharing a room with a complete stranger had petrified her at first; but, a feeling of relief swept through her when she was introduced to Riley by the house mother in the hall outside their dorm room. Riley's happy and outgoing attitude made Addy think that the year wouldn't be too bad.

One side of her new home consisted of flat white walls, and a wooden bed and desk. The other half was crammed with bottles and bags of herbs, pentagram posters, and spell books. Her roommate, as it turned out, was a witch. Not some new age, hippy dressing, vegan, pagan wanna-be, but a full blood honest to God witch! Her family had practiced the earth arts for generations and their heritage traced back to significantly before the European witch hunts.

Addy had merely smiled and shook Riley's hand. "Oh great," Addy had thought to herself as she continued to force the smile. "I'm going to start coughing up nails and bleeding from my ears."

Only that hadn't happened. Regardless of Addy's first impression, Riley wasn't anything like the other witches Addy had met. And, when less than a week later Riley had figured out Addy's secret when she had attempted to sneak out of the room at to deal with a ghost that was terrorizing their biology classroom, she realized one thing. There was a reason Riley wasn't like the other witches, because Riley was her own bread of awesome. She hadn't screamed or judged, she simply demanded to be taken along. The two of them really clicked that night; Riley agreed to teach Addy basic spell techniques if Addy taught her basic hunting strategies. Since that day they had been roommates, best friends, and a hunting team.

The cold winter air brushed against Addy's skin. New England weather was so bipolar. Up than down, up than down… She hugged herself and tried to stay warm. One of the plus sides about winter was how clear the sky was. The stars over head twinkled like small diamonds.

It had been two weeks since West Virginia. Two weeks since the sense of confusion and worry had clouded her judgment. After making it back Riley had hounded Addy with questions, questions she hadn't wanted to answer. Her flights back home had been short, but it had been long enough for her to figure two things out.

One, her uncle was most likely dead. He hadn't picked up his phone and he hadn't responded to her voice mail. In the world of hunting, those two things were taboo.

Two, who ever those men were, they knew him. They knew Uncle John. The reaction they had when she mentioned his name was proof of that.

**O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O**

"Hey Jen," Addy called as she walked into the twenty four hour convenient store a mile outside of campus. "How are you?" She flashed a smile to the middle aged women working the cash register. Jen was always nice to Riley and her, she wouldn't give them weird, and questioning glares whenever they entered the store after midnight. Which, to be completely honest, tended to happen after they went hunting. Hunting would made them really hungry and required potato chips, chocolate bars and, Addy's favorite, Skittles.

"Doin' goo-o-o-d," Jen said in her flat New England accent. "Where's that little friend of yours sweetie?" Jen asked as Addy continued into the store.

"Back at school, we need ice cream." Addy shrugged. "I got the short straw."

Jen flashed Addy a smile before helping a customer who had made their way to the counter.

The store was pretty much deserted, Addy noticed as she walked to the back of the store to the freezer.

Of course the only other person pretty much in the store was standing in that aisle. And of course he tried to move to the left right as Addy tried to pass him.

"Sorry!" She instinctively apologized to him. Cody and Uncle John had drilled manners into her. Apologize even to giant creepy men. Don't cause too much attention when you don't want to be noticed. Or as Cody had once said 'wear grey and don't open your mouth.'

He just flashed her a strange creepy smile. "No problem Sweetcheeks."

Addy felt his eyes on her as she walked over to the freezer and opened the door. Maybe he'd walk away. Maybe he _wasn't _checking her ass out. Except, she knew he was still staring at her. "Freak Boy," she muttered under her breath.

Her fingers twitched anxiously as she eyed the ice cream selection. She grabbed a container of Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. Last summer Ri and her had taken a road trip to the factory in Vermont. A sort of celebration after Riley had gotten her license. It was weird knowing her roommate was so much older than Addy. Then again, Addy had skipped a grade and Riley had spent a year living with her dad in Kenya when she was in eighth grade. Her dad was an engineer and traveled a lot for work so she didn't see him much. The fact that her parents were divorced didn't help much either. Lexington's placement test had put her at a ninth grade level when she tried to enter in the fall. Something Ri still resented.

With the pint in her hand, Addy turned back around, thankful that Freak Boy wasn't there.

There was only one person in the line ahead of Addy. One too many, she realized, when she felt a shadow looming over her. She brushed her bangs back behind her ears as she felt her hackles rise.

"Hey, long time no see?" Freak Boy chuckled.

"Uh," She answered coldly. Anyone who initiated a greeting by staring at her ass wasn't worth her time. This conversation was over!

"So what you doing here all alone on a Friday night? A pretty girl like you should be out enjoying herself. I could help you."

She ignored him. Her eyes stayed focused on the counter and as soon as the person in front of her left.

"Hey Jenny, sorry, I'm in a bit of a hurry." She handed over the five dollars as Jen nodded in understanding and quickly scanned the ice cream and tossed it in a bag. Even Jen could tell he was a creeper. "Keep the change.

"Nice to meet you sweet-cheeks," Freak Boy laughed as Addy be lined for the doors. "See you soon."

Yeah right, Addy wouldn't go near him if her life depended on it. The alarm in the back of Addy's mind was sounding. It was sounding a loud incessant klaxon. Instincts went a long way in the world of hunting.

Freak Boy had progressed from a plain old freak, to a perv.

Giving strangers nicknames was one way she was trained to be observant and vigilant of her surroundings. It let Addy remember features and things about strangers in case she ever needed had to recall them. Kind of like mnemonics; she used '_Be My Little General__'_ for remembering flag officer ranks in the military. Uncle John had taught her that one when she was a kid; not like she ever used it. Be was for Brigadier General, My was for Major General, Little was Lieutenant General, and a four-star general was just General. Uncle John had been a Marine; so learning military stuff was a part of life.

Addy's pace quickened as she left the store and hurried down the street. A steady jog would not only help her get back faster, but also create distance between her and Freak Boy. By the time Addy slowed to a walk the store was out of sight out of mind. Freak Boy wasn't following her, she had the ice cream. Life was good.

Addy was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, but right now Addy didn't have any real weapons on her. And honestly, she wasn't sure she was strong enough to fight off someone as large as Freak Boy was.

'_I'm not weak,'_ Addy reassured herself. '_But I'm human, and he is big. Yeti __big.'_

She stopped underneath a street light to catch her breath for a second. The past couple of weeks had suuuucked! Her hand automatically ran itself through her hair as she started moving again.

Maybe it was the shift of light, the shadow that drifted across her vision; or maybe it was the sudden pit that grew in her stomach. Either way, Addy put one foot forward and shifted her weight to one leg. She brought her right leg up to her knee and kicked backward, executing a back kick as her foot slammed into the stalkers chest. Holding her breath she turned around to face the attacker head on.

"That wasn't very nice." Freak Boy growled as he stumbled backwards and tried to stay on his feet. "And after I went out of your way to make you feel so welcome! Ya know, for such a cute girl you're a real pain in the ass!"

"If you're looking for some Friday night entertainment, you picked the wrong girl," Addy warned, moving her legs into a horse stance. A six foot guy verses a five foot tall girl; the odds weren't in her favor.

"Actually, I picked the right one. Look, I just wanna talk." A grin covered his face, his eyes blue eyes twinkled.

And just like that her fight or flight response kicked in. She spun around and took off at a dead run.

"Nice try Addy," Creep Boy stood there. Behind her, he was supposed to be behind her. Only he wasn't.

Well, crap! Addy didn't even to watch the boy's eyes shift color to know what he was. A demon. His eyes shifted black, and suddenly Freak Boy was much more intimidating.

She was alone, in the middle of a deserted street, with a demon in front of her.

She was screwed! Her fingers fumbled into the pocket of her sweat shirt, desperately searching for her knife. The knife she had inherited a few months back. The knife that could kill anything supernatural. The knife that she always, always carried around with her. The knife currently sitting uselessly in her in her dorm room. That left her with one pint of melting ice cream, her self-defense skills and one daemon. Not exactly great odds.

Where was Jase when she needed him? Jase was her best guy-friend; she'd known him since they were kids. Their dad's had hunted together occasionally. And of course, he always showed up whenever she least expected. That had led to some awkward moments. But if she needed him to be close, he was usually there for her. Unless he was in the middle of a hunt or something.

"Like I said, I just need to talk to you!" He took a step towards her. She took a step back.

"For some odd reason, I don't believe you," She hissed.

"Oh Addy, so untrusting! Didn't Daddy teach you manors?" He watched the girl, trying to see her reaction. She never gave him one. "I need you to deliver a message for me." He took another step forward; he was close to her now. Addy didn't move as he reached a hand out and brushed her hair out of her face. "To someone who's very important to you. Someone you don't even know about."

"Let me get this straight," She swatted his hand away. "I'm 'delivering' a message to someone I don't even know." She huffed. "Deliver your own goddamn message!"

Creep Boy smiled down at her. "But you make the perfect letter."

Reaching into his jacket, Creep Boy removed a knife. He was too close to Addy. Way too close! And she couldn't show any emotions without ending it all. Any demonstration of fear, and she'd be a goner.

"Now, don't move, don't scream, don't fight, and this will be over in a minute," He began as he smiled down at the knife.

That's when Addy's fist lashed forward, nailing him in the nose. The bag of ice cream, her only 'weapon' against the evil creature, she threw it at his face. As soon as she hurled the Ben and Jerry's at him she took off running down the street.

Not that it mattered. Addy made it all of 200 feet before she felt something tugging on the bun that she secured to the top of her head when she'd changed out of her school clothes. The sheer force yanked her backwards, flinging her to the ground. Her hands shot forward, impacting the cement sidewalk. She bit her lip, refusing to cry out as her skin peeled away, leaving a bloody mess.

Addy's eyes shot up, green meeting black in a heated gaze. Blood trickled down the damon's face. A sense of satisfaction filled her chest as Addy stumbled back, barely dogging the foot aimed at her chest. She stood, her arms crossed in front of her in a defensive stance.

Usually Addy was a scrappy fighter: A hitter, a scratcher, a puncher. She didn't play fair, because in the world of hunting fair didn't exist. Lexington's had presented Addy with something none of her other schools had. A soccer program in need of a goalie. And Addy, with her fifteen years of training and determination not only landed her a position on the varsity team; but, after a month she'd been promoted to starter after a party had landed the Vicky, the old goalie, with an underage drinking violation.

It was during Addy's first game with the Lexington Ram's that Addy discovered just how much she'd loved soccer. She'd played here and there before; but, the Ram's aggressive playing style had given Addy a valve for her temper. She got to kick things as hard as she could; and kicking was just so much more fun than punching!

So when Freak Boy brought his foot up to his chest, Addy was ready for it. She stepped backwards, bringing up her own leg in a side kick. But it never made contact. Instead Freak Boy caught her foot in mid air, holding it tightly. The stood there motionless. Freak Boy staring at her, Addy looking at him. And just like that she knew it was over.

Addy tried to stand her ground, but the sudden force of Freak Boy's pull sent her flying through the air. He didn't use his powers; he didn't use anything but brute strength. Yet, Addy's head slammed into the pavement fifteen feet away from where she had been standing.

"Not so much fun when you're on the receiving end of it, is it Sweet Cheeks?" He asked, looming over her like some sort of prepubescent bully.

"Congratulations!" She screeched. "You hurt a girl!" Her fingers pushed against the pavement as she tried to lift herself up with her bloodied arms. She could feel her head pounding, her bones aching and the bruises forming.

Creep Boy slammed his foot into her chest and pushed her back into the ground. "Red looks good on you," He said, holding her down with his foot.

"I could say the same to you!" She hissed through clenched teeth. Creep Boy raised his foot, kicking Addy in the side. Bile spilled from Addy's mouth. She threw herself to the side, avoiding him as she clenched her eyes shut.

"I tried to play fair Princess." He bent down, resting his knee on her stomach. Reaching out a hand he tapped her cheeks gently. "Now are you done fighting?"

Just because she was trapped, just because it was hopeless, just because she was facing a damon, did not mean she was about to give up. Addy brought up her knee, slamming it into Freak Boy's chest as she spit in his face.

She didn't blink, didn't even move when Creep Boy's hand slapped her face. She was a Campbell. She came from one of the oldest hunting families in America. If she was going to die, she was going to die with her pride.

"Kill me," She told the daemon in a whisper. "Just get it over with."

"I. Told. You." He grunted, his lips curved forward into a smile as the knife glittered in the moon light. "I'm not going to kill you. I just need you to do me a solid and just deliver the message."

"No!" She screamed as he brought the knife down onto her arm. He started at her shoulder, dragging the knife down as he laughed.

"I want you," He hummed softly as he pressed harder. Addy watched the thin steady stream of blood leave her arm. "To tell Dean, that Lilth says hi. She misses him, you know."

Addy glanced over at the cut. It was long, but it wasn't too deep. Maybe she wouldn't need stitches. But it was bleeding pretty badly.

She whimpered, "I dunno any Dean!"

"Sure you do." He nodded. "West Virginia, two weeks ago… You remember that, don't you?" Addy's face fell. "You honestly think we're not keeping tabs on you, you silly little girl? After how much you mean to us?"

"W-whuddua mean?" Her voice caught in her throat.

"Oh Addy," He sighed as he stood. "So young," He toed her ribs making Addy groan in pain, "so naive," and with a sick smirk on his face he kicked her in the ribs, "so stupid."

Addy's ribs felt like they were on fire. The pain was too much. Her head, her ribs, her arm…

He kicked her again and Addy screamed "I dunno a Dean!" She cried. "I dunno, I dunno!"

"Shhh," Creep Boy cajoled the whimpering girl. "Shhh!" He brushed her sweat soaked hair out of her face. "You're okay. You're fine," He soothed before kicking her once more for good measure. "Cheers little one," He flashed her a smile before leaving.

She was alone now. All alone. The cold winter air brushed against Addy's skin. New England weather was so bipolar. Up than down, up than down… She hugged herself and tried to stay warm. One of the plus sides about winter was how clear the sky was. The stars over head twinkled like small diamonds...


	3. Familiar Encounters

"_A man always has two reasons for doing anything: a good reason and the real reason.__"_

One of the little known advantages about being so fricking thin and too damn short for just about everything, Addy had realized a couple of years earlier, was how fast she could run. Faster than a Jack Russell chasing rabbits, her older brother Cody used to say. She loved the feeling she got while running, the weightlessness and the breathlessness. So when Lexington's soccer coach had stuck her in goal for the second day of practice, she had been less than happy. Well, less than happy was putting it mildly.

Riley had kind of guided Addy towards soccer; it had either been that or field hockey. The field hockey team was one of the best high school teams in the country; but, the soccer team – well they were among the worst in the country. They'd been through twelve coaches in the last ten years trying to improve their team; but, the soccer team was still the haven for the losers and uncoordinated at Lexington's.

And being the goalie meant not running. It meant being stuck in a stupid small box waiting for something to happen. She was the last line of defense, and the only one who seemed to give a shit if the Lexington team won or lost. The rest of the team had rolled their eyes and smirked at her. No one had thought that the five foot tall, too skinny, too bruised, too socially inept red-headed new kid would make any difference in that eight foot tall goal. Addy was no exception.

She could remember the first shot someone had taken at her during practice. The feeling of her heart pounding, the knot in her chest, the dry mouth, and the feeling of lunging towards the oncoming ball; a very fast and hard oncoming ball. She had clutched the black and white sphere to her chest as she looked up to meet the astonished gaze of her coach and her no longer so smug teammates.

It wasn't uncommon for Addy to look back and wonder why, or even how, she had caught that stupid ball, or for her to wonder why she had caught every other ball that had been thrown her way that day. All she knew was that she had done it; Someway, somehow.

O~O~O~O~O~O~O

Nine months later, Addy was still wondering about the first time she had played soccer. The wonder of her heightened reflex response still eluded her. But 'the gift', as her coach had put it, still gave her that sense of breathlessness and an adrenaline rush. Tonight the fight with the demon, Addy had felt the same way; adrenaline, sheer willpower, someway somehow. Addy didn't know, and right now she really didn't fricking care. Somehow half hour after being kicked to the curb, she was standing in the hall way of her dorm. Well, not so much standing as letting the wall hold her up; but, she was upright. And that was a win.

Addy didn't know how she had made it back to the dorm, but she had conquered the stairs, now all she needed to do was power down the rest of the hallway. Easier said than done, Addy realized as her legs started shaking heavily. She slumped against the wall and then slid, lowering herself to the safety of the ugly pea green carpet.

Maybe Addy shouldn't have been so lazy these past couple of months. Granted she hunted, but it was always with Riley and nothing too hard, too dangerous, or too exciting. Being out of shape had gotten her this hurt. Well it wasn't going to happen again. She promised herself that much.

That's where Riles came into play. Her larger than life and always overzealous bestie was always willing to offer a helping hand, especially when Addy didn't have one. Addy grabbed her cell out of her jeans pocket and scrolled down to Riley's number. Her finger brushed against the send key as a loud authoritative voice echoed down the hall.

"Well?" The harsh voice snarled. "Are you going to call her, or are we going to be standing here all night?"

"Look, super, SUPER special Agent, when I told you that Addy was out for the night, I said it because she's well, out for the night. She does have a life!" Addy couldn't help but smile with pride. Riley was starting to use her sarcasm; and if Addy had to take bets Riley was spinning her favorite field hockey stick (the red one; not the blue or black ones that also littered their room), wishing she could bash the super special agent dickhead over the head. Okay, the dickhead part was Addy's addition; but, it was fricking awesome knowing that your best friend always had your back. "You're welcome to stay here for as long as you want, but I guarantee that if all three of you aren't gone in ten minutes, I'm going to call my brother Luke, he's a Boston cop, and _he'll _deal with you. And trust me, the police 'round here don't take kindly to strange men bothering women."

_So there were three of them?_ _Three?_ _Well, crap!_ Addy had apparently acquired some unwanted attention. Still, she couldn't help but laugh at her amazingly awesome friend; but it was short lived laughter. It was laughter that quickly turned into a loud, hacking cough. She caught her breath, biting her lip tightly as she clenched her eyes shut. Maybe no one heard that. Please say none of them were paying attention.

"Sam?" The 'super' special agent that had originally spoken, growled. "You hear that?"

"Sure did," A second voice muttered.

Footsteps sounded as Addy clenched her eyes shut. _Maybe if I don't see them, they won't see me_, she hoped. This wasn't a game of hide and go seek, she realized with a small whimper of annoyance. Either way, it didn't matter. She had been found.

"Holy," A sharp intake of breath sounded. "Dean," He said calmly. Nothing happened. "Dean!" He shouted this time.

_Dean?_ Hadn't Addy just gotten the shit beat outta her because of someone named Dean? Whoever this asshat was, he was going d-o-w-n, down, she promised herself. She wouldn't take a beating for no one, no way no how!

Addy's eyes flew open. Fierce green stared at confused hazel as the young girl looked at the last person she expected to see. The wall, the freaking tall shaggy head, looking kind of fucking Sasquatch guy from two weeks ago was here, in her dorm. Staring down at her. And just like that he was crouching in front of her.

"Holy f-" She began as her voice caught in her throat. 'Agent Young', the dick Riley had been arguing with for who knows how long, rounded the corner. "Fuck my life!" Addy screamed, banging her fist against the floor. "You've got to be fucking kidding me! What the hell are you doing here?"

She was ignored. "Sammy," Agent Young, Dean, who ever the hell he was, began, "What's wrong? What happened? Is she okay?"

"No. Are you a fucking moron? I'm just peachy," Addy said as she clenched her teeth in both pain and anger.

Dean glared down at the young girl. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Dean," Sam warned. "She needs medical attention, not an interrogation. Adam," He called, waiting for the smaller boy to peer his head around the corner.

_So he was the third one,_ Addy realized. _What the heck? _It must be the head injury making_ her _giddy. She giggled to herself: Was their _dorm room suddenly becoming a clown car? Where the hell were all these people coming from?_ It was after all a small room ; four people was one heck of a crowd in her and Riley's room.

"First aid kit, now." Sam said sternly, not forcefully, Addy noted. Sam waited till the boy had swept past the confused trio before turning his attention back to Addy. "We're gonna get you to your dorm, okay?"

"No! No! No! Not okay!" Addy snapped, kicking her legs out at the overly large man. "Stay away from me!" She warned with a side of hysteria creeping into her voice.

"Kid," The man called Dean said calmly, "We're here to help. We're not gonna hurt you. Not that it matters considering how you look…"'

"Thanks for the pep talk," She snapped. "I've got this covered." She said with a stubborn nod as she tried to push herself up, only to fall back to the ground.

"Yeah, you got this covered," The man named Dean sighed, grabbing her injured arm before she hit the floor.

Addy screamed. Dean pulled her close, clamping a hand over her mouth to muffle the sound. She bit his hand as hard as she could. But, his ginormous mitt didn't move.

"Now, I'm gonna move my hand, and you're not gonna scream, got it?" He waited till the tiny red head nodded before moving his hand.

"Are you blind?" She demanded as her head pounded and her body swayed. She wouldn't admit it, but if Dean hadn't been holding her up, she wouldn't be on her feet. "I hurt my freaking arm!" She said, pointing to the bloody mess.

"Let's get that looked at," Sam said, giving a nod of his head. It was a clear sign for his partner. A sign to get them the fuck out of the hall and away from any unwanted eyes.

"Yep," Dean signed, holding Addy up with one hand as he started towards the room.

"I can walk by myself," She snarled.

"No, no you can't." Dean didn't even look at her as he picked her up and carried her towards the room as Addy kicked and clawed. His grip never loosened. "Stop struggling, you're making yourself bleed more," Dean warned. Amazingly the kid stopped moving.

"We're gonna need to borrow your room," Sam told someone who Addy assumed was Riley.

Still tangled in the older man's arms, Addy pushed herself up so she could look at her roommate. The giant they called Sam was looking down at a very confused, very concerned Riley.

"What the hell happened? What did you _do_ to her?" Riley yelled, holding her field hockey stick up. "Adds? Addy? You okay? Are you alright?"

"She'll be fine," Dean assured the worried teen. "She's bleeding. We need to get it stopped, and everything cleaned out and her looked over."

The sixteen year old glanced over the men in front of her. No weird vibes, no indications that they had any ill intentions. Riley's spidey sense, as Addy called it, was set off by people: She just seemed to know when people had good or bad intentions. In reality she was just very cognizant about body language and first impressions. She knew these men were safe. She moved aside, lowering her lucky field hockey stick to her waist. No way in the Christian Hells would she completely lower it.

"Mines the one with the blue sheets," Addy told Dean as he carried her over to the bed. She didn't want to get blood all over Riley's bed.

"There we go," Dean gently set Addy down onto her narrow bed and looked her over. She had a couple clear cuts and bruises. But the number one thing that worried him was her arm. "You hit your head?"

"Yeah," Addy answered cautiously. She fingered her light blue comforter in her hands as she refused to look at anyone in the room.

"How hard?" Dean asked, kneeling down in front of her, forcing himself into her line of vision.

Addy moved her head away from the man and locked eyes with her roommate who had managed to go from fierce to shaking.

"Ri?" Addy asked sweetly. "What's wrong?"

Riley bit her lip as she shook her head. _Blood_, Addy realized. Riley didn't handle the sight of any blood well, this much blood must be freaking her out. Addy could remember one time during a soccer game where Addy had gotten a foot to her face. Riley had taken one look at her best friend bloody excuse for a nose, before having to excuse herself and empty her stomach in the bushes.

Maybe it was the fact that Riley couldn't do anything about physical wounds, but she hated being around injured people. Even if the person was her best friend.

"Hey, um…" Sam ran a hand through his chestnut hair. "Why don't we…" He trailed off and pointed to the door. "Leave Adam and Dean to look over your friend."

"Over my fucking own dead body!" Riley snarled as tears slid down her face. She gripped her field hockey stick in her hand as she looked at her bestie.

"Ri, I'll be fine. I just…" Dean, taking advantage of the girl's defensive low, grabbed her hand to look at the cut. "OW!" Addy yelled trying to smack the older man's hand away.

Dean grabbed her hand and flashed her a warning look. "Cut it," He warned. "I don't think you need stitches though."

And that announcement started Riley sobbing. Addy clenched her eyes shut. She couldn't handle the combination of the pain, the confusion, and her sobbing best friend.

If Addy hadn't glanced over at Dean she would have missed what happened next. Dean and Sam exchanged a look, and even though it only lasted a few fleeting seconds, Addy could tell it was an entire silent conversation. She and Riley could do that; it irritated teachers and their classmates. Jenny down the hall had accused them of being telepathic; she also thought that they were going to practice mind control. And whenever anything went wrong in her the dumb chicks life, she accused Riley of casting curses… Jenny was an idiot.

"Riley, I think they need time to handle this. Let's go for a walk…" Sam suggested, placing a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder.

"'Can't leave her," Riley wiping her nose on her long sleeved t-shirt. "I can't…"

"I'll be fine Ri, promise." Addy said softly. She could tell Sam wanted to question her; but, she didn't care anymore. She was hurt, she was tired, and she was trying to keep her head from spinning. And Riley's really loud crying was making Addy's headache worse.

With one last concerned look, Riley nodded and placed her lucky field hockey stick next to Addy. _Just in case_, Riley's next glance told Addy. The younger girl would need it more than Riley, at least the way she was right now. She grabbed her blue secondary stick (that was covered with yellow smiley face stickers thanks to her nephew Carson) and let Sam lead her out of the dorm room, passing Adam on the way out.

"Here ya go," Adam said, setting down the large plastic case and opening it. Dean made his way over to the other side of the room and sat down on Riley's bed to watch what was happening. Addy flashed him a warning glance until Dean got up from her roommate's bed and leaned against the wall.

"This is going to sting a bit," Adam warned as he held up a wet antiseptic cloth. He waiting till Addy gave him an accepting nod before placing his hand on her arm to clean out the cut.

He was right; it didn't sting a little. It stung a lot. But considering it was either let him do it or have her do it herself, she was okay with the stranger touching her. Five minutes, four antiseptic wipes, three butterfly bandages and a whole lot of awkward silence later, he was done.

"You said you hit your head?" Dean asked, watching Adam wrap her arm in an Ace bandage. Given how jumpy and touchy the kid was, Dean and Sam had agreed during their little silent conversation that Adam probably had the gentlest bedside manner. So Adam was patching while Dean hovered.

"The Ace bandage will keep it clean and still allow some movement." Adam finished wrapping her arm and examined his work before placing the unopened bandages back into the first aid kit and looking at Addy. "The bleeding should stop soon, but change the gauze every few hours anyway, to prevent infection. Keep…"

Addy totally ignored his last question and started to rant, "I know. I know. Keep it clean, don't get it wet. Blah, blah, blah…" Addy had been hurt enough times in her life that she knew the drill. Plus, mouthing off at him meant she didn't have to answer the question the lurker had asked. Dean, that was his name. Yeah, she didn't want to answer his question. She closed her eyes again. If they were closed, she didn't have to look at him. If she didn't look at him, she didn't have to answer. Besides if she didn't move at all and concentrated real hard her head didn't spin that much. That was good.

"Kid?" Dean said more sternly this time. He was getting impatient, he expected an answer. "You said you hit your head?"

"Yeah," Addy relented and admitted with her eyes still closed. "I got tossed and my head hit the pavement." The girl opened her eyes to met the stranger's gaze. His eyes were soft, kind almost. Even though the rest of his body showed how tense he was and the worried wrinkles around his eyes made him seem a lot older then Addy was sure he really was, he seemed alright.

Dean came out from the wall where he was leaning and ran a finger through the teenager's tangled red hair, stopping when Addy winced. "Looks like you got yourself a nasty bump there. Could be a concussion."

"Wouldn't be surprised," Addy mumbled as she kicked her feet together and looked down at the floor.

"Come on, I'll give you a ride to the ER," Dean sighed and ran a hand over his head as he stood. Whatever secrets this girl was hiding would have to wait till after the hospital.

"No," Addy said. Just one word with as much force as she could muster behind it.

"What was that?" Dean glared down at the young girl. "I know you didn't just tell me no."

"Actually, it looks like I sure as hell just did."

"You probably have a concussion; you need to go to the hospital."

"Well I'm not going to the hospital. Do you want me to spell it out for you? Write it down? Tattoo it somewhere?" Addy carefully enunciated the words. "I am not freaking going, and there's no way in hell you can make me." Addy crossed her arms around her chest.

No hospitals. At all. Ever if she could help it. Not only did she hate formal medical institutions, but also the people who ran the places. She had grown up with Joshua, a family friend and retired doctor, looking at her wounds. Addy's family, though susceptible to rather serious injuries considering their line of work, were typically 'gifted' healer as they'd all been told on too many occasions. They'd all healed faster than most people. Not incredibly fast, but fast enough that it made a difference. Broken bones took four weeks, cuts were healed in days, and some bruises were gone in a couple of hours.

Joshua and her family had made it clear to her, avoid hospitals if she could, take care of what she could on her own, and if she had to go to a 'real doctor,' get out as soon as she could. No unwanted attention was needed in a hunter's life. No way, no how.

"Kid…" Dean tried to explain.

"My name's Addy!" She shot back, locking her gaze with his.

"Look… Kid," Dean began. He didn't want to make a personal connection with her. If anything went south and he ended up having to kill her because she was possessed, he didn't want to feel bad about it. Which wasn't too much of a problem at the moment, the kids mouth and her attitude were grating on his nerves. If she kept it up he might just freaking kill her anyway for being so annoying. Though he couldn't understand why he gave a shit anyway. "If you have a head injury, you should get it looked at by someone with a medical degree."

"I'll be fine," Addy explained again. "The last thing I need is to go out and get attacked again."

"I doubt any random human is going to go after you in a hospital," sighed Dean. His patience was virtual nonexistent at this point.

"Yeah, I won't have to worry about any _humans_," The young girl muttered as she looked down at her ruined shirt.

"What did you say?" Dean stared the girl up and down. _Did she mean…?_

_Damn, Addy you slipped_, she silently chastised, "I dunno, what did you mean?" She asked, trying to recover her ground.

"Kid, you said humans…" Dean trailed off. "Look, I know I'm going to sound insane but were you attacked that may have had black eyes or strange supernatural like strength, did he?"

"Like a demon?" Addy whispered as she tensed up. "How the hell do you know about them?"

"You're like twelve! How the hell do _you _know about them?" Dean snapped.

"I dunno! Just do!" Addy lied shrugging her shoulders and trying to appear nonchalant. But, her nerves starting to get the best of her.

And just like that, Dean's calm broke. His eyes flashing fury he picked the little red head up by the shirt and held her at arm's length. "Start talking kid, I'm done playing nice."

"Dean," Sam warned from the door. "Put her down." Sam could see the anger in his brother's face. But he could see something that Dean couldn't. The fear in the little girl's eyes.

With a deep sigh Dean released the girl, allowing her body to gently plop down onto the bed. Riley, quick as a rabbit dodged past Sam, Dean and Adam to her get to best friends side.

"You okay?" Riley whispered in Addy's ear as she rubbed her friend's back in comfort. Addy was the one who needed consoling now. If that Dean person touched her again, he'd be on the floor bleeding in seconds. Riley didn't take too kindly to people hurting her friends.

"Wanna know why I was attacked?" Addy whispered at the large men who were overfilling their small dorm room without meeting any of their gazes. She was just as pissed as this Dean guy. They were the ones that had invited themselves into the small dorm room. They had pushed their way into her life, and she wanted them gone. Now. "Because of you, Dean. I dunno what the fuck you did to piss the demons off, but they're after _me _now. Congrats, I don't even know you and you've already ruined my life," she snarled.

"Demons?" Riley asked softly. Addy had a bad habit of being a supernatural magnet. Maybe it was because of the little girl's secrets, ones Riley didn't even know; she knew that Addy had a lot of secrets. And she didn't really want to know. One demon going after Addy was bad for more than one reason: It meant that more were to follow. "Adds, this is bad. This is like, uber bad. This is like worse than the time that got caught shop lif…" Riley shut up at the glare that Addy leveled her. "Sorry." She shrugged at Addy. "It's really bad!"

"I _know_ Riley," Addy rolled her eyes, then ran a hand through her ruined hair before meeting each of the three men's eyes individually. She stopped at Dean's stern unwavering gaze. "I was told that this, right here," Addy held up her arms to reveal her wounds, " and not just the injuries and the pain, but the whole of my insignificant human self. This threat was a message for you Dean. Apparently they know something; Something that I don't even know; Something that _we _don't even know. Something that involves you, me and that psycho bitch demon Lilith. And apparently this is just the start."

When Dean heard that Addy and Riley watched another complete and silent one-second long conversation and all three men sprang into action with Dean barking orders like a General "Sam, you take Adam and go get the car. I want you back here in five minutes. Grab the holy water and the salt and put them in the back seat. I want the hex bags checked to make sure they're working fine," Dean ordered, waiting for them to leave before turning to face Addy. "Kid, you're coming with us."

"W-what?" Addy asked in shock. _Had he really just said that? No, he hadn't said that. That would be insane. That wouldn't make any sense._ "No I'm not!"

"Yes you are. You're coming with us even if I have to fight off your roommate and drag your smart little ass out of here kicking and screaming. This isn't a game; this is real. Your friend was right, this is bad. Worse than anything else you've probably gone through." Dean locked eyes with Addy. He could tell she was trying to keep her cool, but obviously failing, Dean noticed. "Do you know who Lilith is?" Dean asked.

"No…" Addy looked at her roommate for some kind of insight. "Ri?"

Riley picked up her inclination, "Lilith is present in Jewish mythology. She is said to have come to earth at the same time as Adam; created by God from filth to be his wife. However, she viewed herself as equals with Adam and after refusing to have sex with him she was cast out of the Garden of Eden. She later mated with Satan and surrendered herself to him. She's a demon; not just any demon. The demon. The first one," Riley's voice grew quieter, and quieter, till it seemed to disappear entirely.

"She's as badass as she sounds Kid," Dean explained. "And she's gunning for you."

"No thanks to you. I haven't done anything!" Addy cried.

"She's not gonna stop till one of you is dead. You can't stay here," warned Dean before he continued, "she's as badass as she sounds Kid, and it looks like she's gunnin' for you."

"I haven't done anything!" Addy cried again, holding her head. It was really starting to throb.

"Doesn't matter. She's not going to stop till one of you is dead. You can't stay here; you'll die if you do." Dean promised._ What's the story with her? _Dean was kinda spooked by the teen, well both of them actually, but the older girl was right, with Lilith gunning for them, here was not the place to be, "See your friends gotten the drift. Kid you really don't want to be here."

"I don't know you. I can't just leave everything and come with you." _She couldn't, right?_ Sure, Addy was a hunter and she'd done the exact same thing to other people before, but this was different. _Wasn't it?_

"We're hunter's Addy. I know you know that, but you have to understand that we protect people from these things…" He stared intently at the wounded girl this time, " at all cost. You need to come with us, and you need to come with us now."

"Addy," Riley's voice was stern. "We both know you need to go. Who are we kidding? We've taken care of each other for this long, but we can't anymore. You gotta go. You'll be safe. Both of us will be safe."

'_Without me around,' _Addy realized with a sense of her own betrayal, '_there's no reason for any demons to go after Riley.'_

A grimace, that's all Addy gave Dean before slowly reaching under her bed for her duffle bag. Riley grabbed it from her and walked over to their closet, shoving Addy's clothing in it. After Riley was done she threw the bag at Addy. Catching it with her uninjured arm, Addy went over to her desk and too roughly opening the drawer with her uninjured arm. She placed her journal and her small collection of pictures into the bag and zipped it shut. She dropped it on the floor at Dean's feet. If the bastard was kid napping her the least he could do was carry her duffle bag. Her back pack lay by the foot of her bed. Addy picked it up and walked back over to her desk again. The last thing Addy grabbed from the top of the wooden counter was a simple, silver dagger. The knife, her most prized position, was gently placed in her backpack. Addy's laptop, her emergency rations and all the other must haves were already in her ever present knapsack.

Five minutes, that's all it had taken Addy and Riley to completely pack away her life at Lexington Academy, the place that had been her home for the past year. The place where her best friend still lived.

"Okay," Addy said as she slung her backpack over her shoulder and blew her bangs out of her face. "I'm good to go."

Riley smiled at her bestie before engulfing her into a hug. "And so it begins," Riley whispered to her best friend. Riley smiled slightly before releasing Addy from the tight grip. "And so it ends as well. It was one hell of a ride."

"Don't talk like we're not gonna see each other again Ri, we're gonna see each other again!" Snapped Addy. Riley was her only friend, well, the only one around at least_. Jase was MIA, the bastard. _

"We will," Promised Riley. "I know we will. Just not in desirable circumstances." Neither of the girls moved. "I want you to have this." Riley said, holding back the tears as she unclipped the silver Celtic knot necklace that she always wore. Addy couldn't recall ever seeing her without it. "Wear it. Promise me you'll always wear it."

Riley had the habit of never taking anything seriously. Which is why Addy was so freaked out at the moment. Riley wasn't even trying to make a joke, Riley wasn't even trying to smile. Riley, as much as it scared Addy, was being one hundred percent serious. And because of that, Addy knew she had to keep the necklace on.

"I promise," Addy said with a nod as she fastened the necklace around her neck, over the silver cross she already had one. "I promise," She repeated softly.

"Let's go Kid," Dean placed a comforting hand on Addy's shoulder as he picked up her duffle and started them off to the door.

"See you soon Ri," Addy called after her roommate.

Addy hesitated once more before taking that final step over her room's threshold. She turned to see her friends head down tucked into her chest. If Addy hadn't been paying attention, she wouldn't have heard Riley's whispering sobs. "No, no you won't," was the last thing Addy heard her best friend say.


	4. Sarcasm and Secrets

__**I do not own Supernatural! **

* * *

_"__If it's a broken part, replace it. If it's a broken arm, then brace it. If it's a broken heart, then face it. Hold your own, known your name, and go your own way, and everything will be fine. _

It was the over whelming morning light that caused Addy to pull the blankets over her head. "Riley, I'm gonna kill you! It's Saturday, I wanna sleep," Addy whined as she curled into a tight ball. Sleep, sleep was good. Her head was pounding, her body felt like fire, and she never wanted to move.

"It's nine Kid," a voice that was most certainly _not _Riley responded, "time to get up."

With a squeak of confusion, Addy threw the blankets away from her body and jumped out of the bed. Ignoring the way her body screamed at her in protest, she placed it into a ready position as the events nights came flooding back to her.

Three men; three tall, strange, creepy hunter men stared back at her. So it hadn't been a dream… Any of it. Not the demon, not leaving Riley, and judging from the way her head was pounding; the whole getting the crap beaten outta her had been real too.

"Uhh, Kid… You should probably calm down before you hurt yourself," Dean suggested as he cautiously eyed the bandage on her arm. Even from his place at the kitchenette's table, he could tell the cuts were threatening to open. The last thing he wanted was for her to rip the wound open.

"Dean," Sam grunted from his brother's side. Of course the girl was going to apprehensive, she didn't even know them."Come on." The teenager's eyes darted back and forth between the three men before sizing up the room. A small huff of a laugh passed through Sam's lips, before he somehow managed to turn it into a cough. The red head's eyes, cold, hard and filled with worry, were examining every corner of the room, taking in every possible exit before coming to rest on Sam.

Maybe Dean had been right, Sam thought. Last night they, after both Adam and Addy had passed out, had stayed up and talked. Dean was convinced there was something off about the girl; like she knew too much for her own good. Sam was starting to agree.

Either way though, she had a reason to freak out; they were just strangers to her. She didn't know them, and they didn't know her.

"What?" snapped Dean. "You wanna be cleaning her blood off of the floor when she bleeds all over the place? 'Cause I fucking don't!"

Addy's arms dropped to her side as her mouth fell open. "Ummm…" She managed before her voice caught in her throat.

"Sorry," Adam shrugged with a small smile. "They're kinda shitty when it comes to "softer language". You'll get used to it."

"_No_", Addy thought to herself, "_I won't be sticking around long enough for that_." Instead, she just nodded her head and responded with, "Right…"

Well, Addy was thoroughly unsure what to do with herself; surrounded by a room full of men. But, she did know one thing, the dried blood on her arm and the grease in her hair had to go, like now. After picking up her backpack from the floor next to her bed, she shrugged it on and started walking towards the bathroom, her haven.

"Where are you going?" Dean demanded from across the room.

"I have to shit," Addy snapped. Did he have to freaking know everything? "Or would you prefer if I just did it out here?" Usually Addy had more patience then this, but after the past couple of weeks her tolerance meter was completely empty. She didn't wait for an answer; instead she just marched into the bathroom and kicked the door shut behind her before locking it.

After dropping her back pack to the floor, Addy grabbed the trash can next to the toilet and placed it in the middle of the room. Her shirt, pants, then underwear were all dropped in. They were gone; her favorite articles of clothing, a skillet concert t-shirt and a pair of skinny jeans, were completely ruined. Even her bra and underwear had small traces of blood on them.

Now it was time for the self examination process. Standing in front of the mirror, Addy stared at her multi colored stomach before running a finger along her ribs. Nope, nothing, they were fine. Next was the cut on her arm. Addy peeled off the butter fly bandages to see what it looked like. Blood coated the majority of the cut, but the wound itself wasn't too deep; if it didn't start bleeding again she wouldn't have to worry. She dropped the bandages into the trash can before looking at the mirror again.

Her hair was a disaster, a rats nest; at least, that's what Cody and Uncle John had always called it when it looked like this. "Ouch!" Addy snarled when her stupid hair elastic wouldn't come out. "God freakin'… Gurr!" Reaching into her bag, Addy pulled out a Swiss-Army knife and cut the evil band out of her hair. "_There, that's better."_

Addy ran a finger through her hair, wincing when she touched a soft spot. A concussion, _"Great_…" At least it wasn't that bad; she had slept through the entire night and woken up, so, that was a plus. Still, her head was bugging her. At least her ears weren't ringing likethe last time she'd gotten a concussion. They'd rung for the better part of a week. Stupid soccer cleats - that concussion had been caused by being kicked in the head during a soccer game.

"Crap," Addy muttered before as she clenched her firsts. "_Take some Advil and suck it up you wimp_!" She thought to herself before grabbing three pills from the home made first aid kit and her bag and dry swallowing them.

"Kid?" Dean, or at least that's who Addy thought it was, he was the only one who didn't use her name, knocked on the door. "You alright in there?"

"Yeah," She yelled back. "Just taking care of some minor technical issues."

"Like what?" He asked. "Is your arm bleeding again?"

"Nope, but I gotta take a shower. I'll be out in ten minutes!"

"Good, make it snappy!"

With a sigh, Addy turned the shower on as hot as it could go before jumping in. The warm water felt amazing! Gently Addy scrubbed the dirt, grease and blood from her skin before jumping out of the shower. She grabbed a towel, using it to dry off as she watched as all the dirty water drained from the tub. After putting on her spare set of clothes that were in her bag, Addy brushed her hair, put it up, and dropped the wet motel-notell towel in to the trash can. "_Just one more thing to do…" _

Reaching under the sink, Addy was relieved to notice a spray able air freshener. After placing the trash can in the shower, the teen grabbed her Zippo from her bag, placed the lighter a few inches away from the air freshener, light it, and sprayed. The contents of the trash can went up in flames. That's all she needed; Addy put the air freshener away, put the lighter in her pocket, waited till she saw nothing but ashes left, and then turned on the shower head.

"Kid?" Dean pounded on the door. "Why the _hell _do I smell smoke? Did you set something on fire?"

"Just trying to use the blow dryer, it's not working to well!" Addy called, as she put the trash can back on the floor before grabbing the hanging hair dryer on the wall and turning it on for a second. She quickly turned it off. "See? It won't even stay on!"

"Okay," Dean huffed. "Well, hurry up!"

She didn't answer as she continued the process of cleaning up after herself. The last thing Addy needed was someone using her old, bloody t-shirt to hunt her down months after she had thrown the gosh darn thing away. Using a strip of toilet paper, Addy whipped down the counter before plopping the paper into the toilet and flushing it. Making one more quick sweep to make sure there was no trace of any of her blood left, Addy picked up her backpack and headed for the door.

"I dunno Sam," Addy could hear Dean sigh as she reached for the door handle. "Maybe Lilith is trying to confuse us. Maybe she's just making us think she wants something from the kid so we focus on her and not on the seals. Sounds like her…"

Addy pressed her ear against the cold wooden door to hear the rest of the conversation.

"We can't chance it," Sam whispered. "She's just a kid, she can't be more than sixteen. No way can she take care of herself."

"I can too take care of myself!"Addy growled low to herself. "Presumptuous jackasses!"

"Exactly," Adam agreed. "Besides, Lilith is invested. She actual sent someone after Addy. Even if this is just a ploy to distract us, the girl's life is in danger."

Well, Addy was done with this conversation. She shifted her bag onto her back and threw open the door.

The discussion between the three men stopped the second the door open. They were silent and, judging by the way the girl was now glaring at them, they figured she had heard everything that had just been said.

"What's the plan, Stan?" Addy asked as she leaned against the door frame. Her eyes never left the three men, who were currently crowded around the kitchenette's table.

"We go get food," Dean grunted, "I'm starving."

"I'm not hungry," Addy shrugged before crossing her arms defensively.

"Yeah, well, you're coming anyway. And leave your bag, we're coming back," He ordered as he walked toward the door.

_Whatever,_ Addy realized it wasn't even worth arguing at this point, as she threw her bag onto one of the beds and walked towards the door. She followed Dean, Sam and Adam to her uncle's impala. Addy didn't care if Uncle John wasn't around, as far as she was concerned, the car was still his. Just because these men had stolen it, or whatever, didn't mean it was theirs.

Addy slid into the back, before shutting the door and strapping on her seat belt. Safety first; that was something Uncle John had always insisted upon. He had even made her stay in a car seat until she met the recommended high requirement, and sadly for her that had taken a lot longer than with most people her age.

As Dean pulled out of the parking lot, the only sound that filled the awkward silence in the car was the AC/DC blasting through the speakers. "So," Addy yelled over the music, "you think it would be alright if I called my brother? Just to let him know what's going on." As much as it sounded like it, it wasn't a question. Addy was going to call her brother Cody even if the _asshats_ said no for some stupid reason. Not that she thought they would. What would be the harm in letting her make a two minute phone call?

"Actually," Sam cleared his throat before turning the music down to a barely audible thud. Dean and he shared a look before he continued, "We don't think that's such a good idea."

"What?" Addy snapped. Had he really just said no? "You don't think it's a good idea to let my brother know that I'm safe? Or do you just not want me to tell him that I've been kidnapped by three psychos?" Addy's voice was shaking. Who were _they_ to tell her what she could and couldn't do?

"Calm down, Kid," Dean warned her with a stern look through the rearview mirror.

"Don't piss me off, then tell me to calm down; that's like stabbing me then telling me to stop fucking bleeding!" Addy fumed. "Ya know what? Screw this, screw you!"

"Hey!" Dean warned through gritted teeth. "You do _not_talk to us like that!"

"Just did," Addy pointed out with an arrogant smile and a small huff. "I mean, you guys haven't told me anything! Where the hell are we anyway, huh? Or can I not know that either?" Sam and Dean looked at each other but said nothing. "I'm so out of here," she snarled, as she unbuckled her seat belt and fumbled with the door handle. It wasn't the first time she'd jumped out of a moving vehicle, and it probably wouldn't be her last. She closed her eyes and braced herself to roll, and…

And a giant hand grabbed the back of her shirt, then slammed the lock down, before slapping the back of her head.

"Concussion!" Addy snarled, as she rubbed a hand through her hair.

"Stupidity!" Adam challenged, as he stared the younger girl down.

Dean was livid. _What was the kid trying to do? Get herself killed; jumping out of a moving car._ He swerved into a parking lot belonging to an old dinner, parked himself in a space and then turned around to full out glare at the younger girl. "Look at me kid," Dean ordered, snapping his fingers. "And for your sake, wipe that smug look of your face."

Addy took a deep, calming breath and closed her eyes before looking up at the older man. Yes, she was angry. Yes, she didn't want to be around him anymore. But, she had been taught at a young age to respect and listen to your elders, especially hunters.

"We're trying to keep you safe. That's it. We don't need your cooperation, but it'll make everything a hell-of-a lot easier." Dean looked at the girl. "Understand? And in case you're wondering, there's only one answer I'm looking for."

"You don't even know me," Addy said in a whispered voice.

"Understand?" Dean repeated. He ignored the kid's questions; she was right, he _didn't_ know her. And to be quite honest he wasn't even sure why he was so interested in her well being.

"Yes sir, I understand," Addy sighed as she rubbed her fingers along the bridge of her nose. She'd been brought up in a hunting family, she knew the right answer. She wished she had the guts Jase had; he would have made some cool comment, but looking at the expression on Dean's face, she knew if she said anything else she'd be in trouble.

_"__But still, what the hell have I gotten myself into?"_ Addy slid out of the impala and stretched her hands to the sky before letting them fall lamely to her side. Adam and Sam stood behind her, Dean was in front of her, and Addy realized with a flair of annoyance that she was being boxed in. No way she could make a break for it now, not that she really planned on it. Without her backpack she wouldn't make it far.

"_Well, I'm stuck with it and she better at least get used to the idea_," thought Addy, as Dean led them over to a booth. He motioned for Addy to slide in before Adam sat down next to her. Dean took a seat across from Addy while Sam pushed in next to him. Addy couldn't help but feel just a little bit trapped. Maybe trying to jump out of a moving car hadn't been the best idea.

"Here," Dean grunted as he shoved a menu in her hand.

Addy stared at the cover, she wasn't hungry. She didn't want food. She didn't even want to _be_ there.

"Hi there!" A chipper, blonde and blue eyed waitress interrupted Addy's thoughts. "My name is Tami, and I'll be your waitress today." She flipped her long hair over her shoulder before flashing Dean a smile. "Can I get you folks something to drink?"

"Yeah," Sam nodded. "We'll have three coffees and…" He bit his lip and looked at Addy.

"A water," Addy whispered as she picked up her fork and gently scrapped it against the table.

"Okay, I'll be back for your orders in a few," Tami flashed a smile and a wink before walking away.

"Yeah," Addy scoffed. "Like, she's only after Dean's order."

Dean smiled before objecting, "Hey, she may be hot, but I do have standards. And she, Kid, is jail bait."

"Yeah, whatever," The young girl snorted. "Have fun telling her that…" Addy looked out the window and watched the cars go by, as the table was filled with an uncomfortable awkward silence. She didn't know these men, and they didn't know her. There was nothing to talk about, they had already made it pretty _freakin' _clear to her that they weren't going to tell her anything, and she wasn't going to push the issue. The only thing she was going to do, was wait till they were asleep that night, then slip out of the motel room.

"So," Sam cleared his throat and waited till the young girl had met his eyes before continuing. Talking to someone who was younger than eighteen had always been weird for him, but a girl, well, that was just plain out of his comfort zone. "Uh, um, how long were you at your school for?"

"Lexington's?" Addy asked with a raised eye brow.

"If that's what the name of the school is," Sam flashed her a small smile.

"Uh, yeah, it is. I've been there for like a year…" Addy's voice trailed off and she looked back out the window to watch the cars drive by. She didn't really like talking about _why_ she was there, and she knew that was about to come up.

And sure enough…

"Why'd you decide to go there?" Sam asked. "I don't know a lot of hunting families that are keen on separation."

"That's because there aren't many," Addy answered in a voice that an adult would use while trying to explain a complicated topic to a small child. "Most of the time they like to stay together because there's strength in numbers. And mine did stay together, for a while at least. After my dad died, it was just me and my brother, and things got hard on him; he couldn't handle it. So he dropped me off and left me with duffle back and a warning to be careful. Thought it would be safest, and all that jazz. Guess that didn't work out too well…"

"Safer, thought it would be safer," Sam corrected without thinking about it. The only response he got in return was a glare from the red head.

"Yeah, whatever. Either way it sucked dick," Addy snapped.

"Language," Dean huffed as 'Tami the waitress' started putting their drinks down in front of them. Coffee, Dean definitely needed coffee right about now.

"What can I get ya'll?" Tami asked as she pulled out her pad. Dean ordered, then Sam and Adam, but when it came time for the kid to order, Dean just rolled his eyes. She was staring out the window with her head leaning on her hand.

Was the street really that interesting? At this point she probably knew more about cars than Dean did just by _freakin'_ watching them.

"Honey?" Tami asked before clearing her throat.

"W-what?" Addy asked as she looked over and blinked twice. Everyone was staring at her.

"What can I get for you?" The waitress asked.

"Uh, nothing, thanks. I'm just gonna stick to water."

Tami, the waitress, nodded and then finished writing down the boys orders. Dean, on the other hand, didn't look so satisfied.

"Kid," Dean cleared his throat and looked at the girl. If Addy wasn't mistaken, she could have sworn she saw a hint of concern in his eyes.

But really, all Addy wanted to do was reach across the table and grab his shoulders and scream, "_ADDY! A-D-D-Y! ADDY! That's my name you dumbass!" _but common sense told her that it probably wouldn't go over so well with Dean.

"You've got to eat," He finished.

"Really, I'm fine. Riley and I had a really big dinner last night, I won't be hungry for a while," She even added in a convincing smile.

"All right," Dean shrugged, but he didn't push the topic. He'd just make sure she ate a big dinner to make up for the calories she was missing at breakfast.

"I'll be back with your food…" Waitress Tami trailed off before turning around and high tailing it outta there, leaving the four of them alone once again.

Addy was content with her window, her own little portal into the normal outside world, but she wasn't stupid. Sam looked like he was a little puppy who was about to pee himself because he was so _freakin' _anxious. What did he want? To ask her more questions? Hadn't she answered enough of them? Couldn't they answer some of _her _questions?

"Howoldisyourbrother?" He blurted out.

"Look, I appreciate your attempt at small talk," Addy began. "But I'm really not interested in having a conversation with you about my personal life."

Dean just snorted. "Way to get called out by a twelve year old, Sammy!"

Then, Addy lost it. "Do I _look _twelve to you?" _Twelve? _Getting attacked by a demon she could take, getting kidnapped was tolerable, but being called a _twelve year old?_ Not cool. Not cool at all.

"Uh, well, kinda…" Dean answered. For a little thing she sure had a set of lungs on her. She even looked pissed enough to slap him.

"You just picked me up from a high school, you dumbass!" Addy snapped. "_Twelve? Like, really? What the freakin' heck!"_ Sure, she was short. She accepted that. Her chest was still growing, but it sure as heck wasn't tiny! And her freckles kinda made her look a _little _younger. But twelve? She sure as hell didn't look twelve! For crying out loud, she had gone through puberty! Ok, she'd only had like four periods since her cycle actually started. But, hell; she wasn't twelve.

"Okay, okay," Sam said trying to calm the raging teenager down. "How old _are_ you?"

"Not twelve, that's for sure!" Addy snapped as she glared at Dean.

"Then how old are you?" Adam asked in an attempt to quieted the young girl down.

Addy flashed a warning look to Adam before turning her attention back to Dean. "Twenty-two."

"Kid," Dean warned. Her sarcasm was driving him insane. "How. Old. Are. You?"

"Fifteen," Addy snapped as she slumped back into the booth. "Fifteen freakin' years old." She huffed before taking a deep breath. "And my brother's twenty-six." Well, that was enough of her sharing her personal private information without getting something in return. "What exactly were you three doing in Boston?" It wasn't much, but it was information that Addy definitely deserved to have. "_I'm really, really starting to hate that look,"_ Addy thought as Sam and Dean glanced at each other again.

"We'll talk about it later," Dean promised, but Addy wasn't stupid. 'We'll talk about it later' was adult talk for, 'We're not going to talk about it, and I'm going to sure as hell hope you forget the question'.

She couldn't help it, she was angry again. Stupid raging teenage hormones. "You're not going to tell me anything, are you?"

"We will, but later!" Dean said through gritted teeth. This kid was driving him crazy, he couldn't handle much more. Was he this bad when he was fifteen? He doubted it.

Before Addy could reply the waitress approached and put the boys' breakfasts' on the table, smiling at Dean and leaving. The boys ate in silence, scarfing down their food at an alarming rate.

"Can you let me out?" Addy asked Adam. He looked at her with a questioning look before raising his eyebrow. "I have to piss, and if you don't let me out, I'm going to do it all over you."

Adam shrugged before standing up and letting her out.

"Didn't you just go at the motel?" Dean asked as he chewed on his bacon cheese burger.

"Yeah, and now I have to piss again, thank you so much! Want me to map out my entire schedule for you so you know exactly when I have to take pee breaks?"

Dean wasn't appreciating her sarcasm. In fact, it was pissing him off. Whatever, it's not like he know what a female went through each month. "Five minutes," He grunted before the girl walked off towards the bathroom.

When Addy reached the bathroom she walked right in and slammed the door behind her. Five minutes her ass! She locked the door and pulled out her cell phone from her pocket before leaning against the door and sliding to the ground. As much as she didn't want to make this call, she had to. Maybe this one phone call would make all her problems go away.

Her fingers pounded against the keys before she put the phone against her ear. It kept ringing, until finally a voice on the other end called out, "This is Cody-"

"Cody, it's Adds, we need to-"

"-Please leave a message with your information and call back number and I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

Addy just rolled her eyes. Great, voice mail, that was going to help her; Not!

She hung up the phone and clutched it against her chest. Well, option number one was out of the way, and she really didn't want to stay with these _buttmunches _for much longer. Like seriously? Who the heck were they to give her a limit on her bathroom time? When a girl has to go, she has to go!

"Kid?" A knock sounded on the door as Dean called out. "You in there?"

Addy glanced at the time on her cell phone – five minutes exactly.

"Yeah," Addy responded as she stood up and opened the door. "Sorry, just finished up."

It took Dean all of five seconds to notice her red face and the cell phone in her hand.

"What the hell kid?" He demanded, adding anger to his already pissed off mood. Dean snatched her phone, jammed it into his pocket and grabbed her arm tightly before he frog marched her towards the exit. "We're leaving," He told a confused Sam and Adam before pulling Addy out towards the Impala.

Dean opened the door of his car before shoving the girl in and slamming the door behind her. He barely waited until Sam and Adam were in their seats before peeling out of the parking lot. He was pissed, and Addy knew it. She kept her mouth shut and refused to look up.

"Why?" Dean demanded, taking his frustration out on the speed limit "Why would you make a call even after Sam told you not to?"

"Dean," Sam soothed, attempting to reduce his brother's anger.

"What Sam?" He banged his fist on the steering wheel. "She lied. She's reckless. What's next? She's putting all of our lives in danger!"

"She probably had a good reason, Dean. " Adam pointed out before looking at the girl. "Did you?"

"Yeah, I needed to call my brother," Addy answered.

"Needed to, or wanted to?" Dean snapped.

"Needed to; He's my older brother. When he finds out I'm missing, he's going to flip. The least I can do is leave him a voice mail telling him that I'm not dead. How the hell would you respond if your younger sibling disappeared off the face of the earth and they didn't even bother to call you?" Addy asked. "'Cause I can tell you right now, he won't be okay with it, don't you get that?"

Dean _did _get that, not that he'd ever tell her that. If Sam or Adam ever went missing, he'd tare up the entire country trying to find them. But she didn't know that, how could she? He hit his fist against the steering wheel in annoyance, with a little bit of anger tossed in for good luck. "Addy," Dean responded, using her name for the first time "it's our job to keep you safe right now."

"Why?" She demanded, "Why is it your job?"

"Because, we're hunters. I know you know what that means. We found you Kid that makes it our responsibility to keep you safe. Besides…" His mouth broke into a half grin, "we don't exactly get along with Lilith. Anything we can do to piss her off seems like a good idea in our book."

Addy banged the side of her head against the window in frustration. She knew what being a hunter meant. It meant that when someone needed your help, you give it to them. You take responsibility for those in need and you don't think twice about it. The only annoying thing was that she could take care of herself, but these men didn't know it. And they wouldn't have to know that if they had never found her. Speaking of which… "How'd you find me anyway? I mean, after the whole incident in West Virginia," Addy muttered.

Sam leaned forward to open the glove compartment, he rummaged around inside before grabbing something and closing it. "Here," he said, handing Addy the wallet she thought she lost two weeks ago. She was instantly relieved, the wallet had been a gift from her brother's fiancé before she died. It meant almost as much to her as her backpack.

"I don't understand," Addy began. "All the IDs in here were…"

"Fake?" Sam finished for her. "Yeah, we noticed. We tried to use them to track you down but it didn't work. So, we went for plan B."

She raised her eyebrow.

"Plan B," Dean explained, "was to call the company that distributes that wallet and ask them for the owner. Adam recognized that it was a designer, and Sam told me that they usually keep the names of the owners on file in case someone loses their product and wants to track it down. We gave them the serial number, they gave us your name and last known location."

"They gave you the information just like that?" She asked as she let the doubt seep through her voice. Sounded unlikely, they had to have more security put into place than that.

"Well, no…" Sam said as he shifted uncomfortable in his seat. "We told them that the wallet was found at a crime scene and that we needed to bring the owner in for questioning."

"Oh…" Addy muttered. That would do it.

"They gave us your name, well, at least kinda… They said your name was A. Noel and that you were living at a boarding school just outside of Boston. We hacked into the school's data base and used that information that we had to track you down," Sam finished.

They weren't just hunters, Addy realized as she leaned against the back seat. They were _good _hunters. "I'm impressed."

"Really?" Dean asked. Something told him that she didn't get impressed too easily.

"Yeah," Addy nodded. "It's not every day you meet a couple of pure dumbasses who manage to use a wallet full of lies to track you down."

Sam ignored the dumbass comment as Dean pulled into the motel parking lot. They got out of the car before Sam turned to face the girl. "What do you mean; a wallet full of lies?"

"Well, for one, my name obviously isn't A. For another, my last name isn't Noel," Addy explained as Dean unlocked the door and let everyone in before shutting and bolting the door.

Addy turned around to notice all three men staring at her. "What?" She snapped. "It's not like I know _your _last names."

"What's your last name, Kid?" Dean asked as he tensed his body up to prepare for an attack. All the information they had known about her was fake, they knew as much about her as she knew about them.

Her last name didn't change who she was… Addy didn't get why all three men suddenly looked worried. "It's Campbell-Noel. My last name is hyphenated. Like, I have both of my parents last names instead of one. Addy, well, Adeline actually, but no one calls me that unless I'm in trouble; Adeline Mary Campbell-Noel."

Campbell… Campbell… Where had Dean heard that name before? Dean turned to look at Sam who had suddenly turned white as a sheet, and suddenly it all clicked together.

"Noel's just an alias you used at school?" Adam asked, none the wiser. How the heck was he supposed to know, after all?

"I use it for a couple of other things, but yeah, pretty much," She nodded.

"Addy," Sam said calmly and slowly as he waited for the girl to look him in the eyes before continuing. "When we first saw you in West Virginia, were you lying about John Winchester being your uncle?"

"No…" Addy said slowly. "I wouldn't lie about something like that. Why?"

Dean slumped back into one of the cheap motel room before running a hand over his face. This couldn't be happening… He looked up to meet the girl's eyes. "John knew he had a niece?"

"All my life," Addy nodded as she crossed her arms and furrowed her eyebrows. "Why?"

"Because," Dean swallowed. "I'm Dean Winchester, and these are my brother's Sam and Adam."

Addy felt her jaw drop, as she glanced at Dean, Sam and then Adam. "Well," Addy whispered before shifting awkwardly. "I guess we know what Lilith wants now."

_"__If it's a broken part, replace it. If it's a broken arm, then brace it. If it's a broken heart, then face it. Hold your own, known your name, and go your own way, and everything will be fine. _

It was the over whelming morning light that caused Addy to pull the blankets over her head. "Riley, I'm gonna kill you! It's Saturday, I wanna sleep," Addy whined as she curled into a tight ball. Sleep, sleep was good. Her head was pounding, her body felt like fire, and she never wanted to move.

"It's nine Kid," a voice that was most certainly _not _Riley responded, "time to get up."

With a squeak of confusion, Addy threw the blankets away from her body and jumped out of the bed. Ignoring the way her body screamed at her in protest, she placed it into a ready position as the events nights came flooding back to her.

Three men; three tall, strange, creepy hunter men stared back at her. So it hadn't been a dream… Any of it. Not the demon, not leaving Riley, and judging from the way her head was pounding; the whole getting the crap beaten outta her had been real too.

"Uhh, Kid… You should probably calm down before you hurt yourself," Dean suggested as he cautiously eyed the bandage on her arm. Even from his place at the kitchenette's table, he could tell the cuts were threatening to open. The last thing he wanted was for her to rip the wound open.

"Dean," Sam grunted from his brother's side. Of course the girl was going to apprehensive, she didn't even know them."Come on." The teenager's eyes darted back and forth between the three men before sizing up the room. A small huff of a laugh passed through Sam's lips, before he somehow managed to turn it into a cough. The red head's eyes, cold, hard and filled with worry, were examining every corner of the room, taking in every possible exit before coming to rest on Sam.

Maybe Dean had been right, Sam thought. Last night they, after both Adam and Addy had passed out, had stayed up and talked. Dean was convinced there was something off about the girl; like she knew too much for her own good. Sam was starting to agree.

Either way though, she had a reason to freak out; they were just strangers to her. She didn't know them, and they didn't know her.

"What?" snapped Dean. "You wanna be cleaning her blood off of the floor when she bleeds all over the place? 'Cause I fucking don't!"

Addy's arms dropped to her side as her mouth fell open. "Ummm…" She managed before her voice caught in her throat.

"Sorry," Adam shrugged with a small smile. "They're kinda shitty when it comes to "softer language". You'll get used to it."

"_No_", Addy thought to herself, "_I won't be sticking around long enough for that_." Instead, she just nodded her head and responded with, "Right…"

Well, Addy was thoroughly unsure what to do with herself; surrounded by a room full of men. But, she did know one thing, the dried blood on her arm and the grease in her hair had to go, like now. After picking up her backpack from the floor next to her bed, she shrugged it on and started walking towards the bathroom, her haven.

"Where are you going?" Dean demanded from across the room.

"I have to shit," Addy snapped. Did he have to freaking know everything? "Or would you prefer if I just did it out here?" Usually Addy had more patience then this, but after the past couple of weeks her tolerance meter was completely empty. She didn't wait for an answer; instead she just marched into the bathroom and kicked the door shut behind her before locking it.

After dropping her back pack to the floor, Addy grabbed the trash can next to the toilet and placed it in the middle of the room. Her shirt, pants, then underwear were all dropped in. They were gone; her favorite articles of clothing, a skillet concert t-shirt and a pair of skinny jeans, were completely ruined. Even her bra and underwear had small traces of blood on them.

Now it was time for the self examination process. Standing in front of the mirror, Addy stared at her multi colored stomach before running a finger along her ribs. Nope, nothing, they were fine. Next was the cut on her arm. Addy peeled off the butter fly bandages to see what it looked like. Blood coated the majority of the cut, but the wound itself wasn't too deep; if it didn't start bleeding again she wouldn't have to worry. She dropped the bandages into the trash can before looking at the mirror again.

Her hair was a disaster, a rats nest; at least, that's what Cody and Uncle John had always called it when it looked like this. "Ouch!" Addy snarled when her stupid hair elastic wouldn't come out. "God freakin'… Gurr!" Reaching into her bag, Addy pulled out a Swiss-Army knife and cut the evil band out of her hair. "_There, that's better."_

Addy ran a finger through her hair, wincing when she touched a soft spot. A concussion, _"Great_…" At least it wasn't that bad; she had slept through the entire night and woken up, so, that was a plus. Still, her head was bugging her. At least her ears weren't ringing likethe last time she'd gotten a concussion. They'd rung for the better part of a week. Stupid soccer cleats - that concussion had been caused by being kicked in the head during a soccer game.

"Crap," Addy muttered before as she clenched her firsts. "_Take some Advil and suck it up you wimp_!" She thought to herself before grabbing three pills from the home made first aid kit and her bag and dry swallowing them.

"Kid?" Dean, or at least that's who Addy thought it was, he was the only one who didn't use her name, knocked on the door. "You alright in there?"

"Yeah," She yelled back. "Just taking care of some minor technical issues."

"Like what?" He asked. "Is your arm bleeding again?"

"Nope, but I gotta take a shower. I'll be out in ten minutes!"

"Good, make it snappy!"

With a sigh, Addy turned the shower on as hot as it could go before jumping in. The warm water felt amazing! Gently Addy scrubbed the dirt, grease and blood from her skin before jumping out of the shower. She grabbed a towel, using it to dry off as she watched as all the dirty water drained from the tub. After putting on her spare set of clothes that were in her bag, Addy brushed her hair, put it up, and dropped the wet motel-notell towel in to the trash can. "_Just one more thing to do…" _

Reaching under the sink, Addy was relieved to notice a spray able air freshener. After placing the trash can in the shower, the teen grabbed her Zippo from her bag, placed the lighter a few inches away from the air freshener, light it, and sprayed. The contents of the trash can went up in flames. That's all she needed; Addy put the air freshener away, put the lighter in her pocket, waited till she saw nothing but ashes left, and then turned on the shower head.

"Kid?" Dean pounded on the door. "Why the _hell _do I smell smoke? Did you set something on fire?"

"Just trying to use the blow dryer, it's not working to well!" Addy called, as she put the trash can back on the floor before grabbing the hanging hair dryer on the wall and turning it on for a second. She quickly turned it off. "See? It won't even stay on!"

"Okay," Dean huffed. "Well, hurry up!"

She didn't answer as she continued the process of cleaning up after herself. The last thing Addy needed was someone using her old, bloody t-shirt to hunt her down months after she had thrown the gosh darn thing away. Using a strip of toilet paper, Addy whipped down the counter before plopping the paper into the toilet and flushing it. Making one more quick sweep to make sure there was no trace of any of her blood left, Addy picked up her backpack and headed for the door.

"I dunno Sam," Addy could hear Dean sigh as she reached for the door handle. "Maybe Lilith is trying to confuse us. Maybe she's just making us think she wants something from the kid so we focus on her and not on the seals. Sounds like her…"

Addy pressed her ear against the cold wooden door to hear the rest of the conversation.

"We can't chance it," Sam whispered. "She's just a kid, she can't be more than sixteen. No way can she take care of herself."

"I can too take care of myself!"Addy growled low to herself. "Presumptuous jackasses!"

"Exactly," Adam agreed. "Besides, Lilith is invested. She actual sent someone after Addy. Even if this is just a ploy to distract us, the girl's life is in danger."

Well, Addy was done with this conversation. She shifted her bag onto her back and threw open the door.

The discussion between the three men stopped the second the door open. They were silent and, judging by the way the girl was now glaring at them, they figured she had heard everything that had just been said.

"What's the plan, Stan?" Addy asked as she leaned against the door frame. Her eyes never left the three men, who were currently crowded around the kitchenette's table.

"We go get food," Dean grunted, "I'm starving."

"I'm not hungry," Addy shrugged before crossing her arms defensively.

"Yeah, well, you're coming anyway. And leave your bag, we're coming back," He ordered as he walked toward the door.

_Whatever,_ Addy realized it wasn't even worth arguing at this point, as she threw her bag onto one of the beds and walked towards the door. She followed Dean, Sam and Adam to her uncle's impala. Addy didn't care if Uncle John wasn't around, as far as she was concerned, the car was still his. Just because these men had stolen it, or whatever, didn't mean it was theirs.

Addy slid into the back, before shutting the door and strapping on her seat belt. Safety first; that was something Uncle John had always insisted upon. He had even made her stay in a car seat until she met the recommended high requirement, and sadly for her that had taken a lot longer than with most people her age.

As Dean pulled out of the parking lot, the only sound that filled the awkward silence in the car was the AC/DC blasting through the speakers. "So," Addy yelled over the music, "you think it would be alright if I called my brother? Just to let him know what's going on." As much as it sounded like it, it wasn't a question. Addy was going to call her brother Cody even if the _asshats_ said no for some stupid reason. Not that she thought they would. What would be the harm in letting her make a two minute phone call?

"Actually," Sam cleared his throat before turning the music down to a barely audible thud. Dean and he shared a look before he continued, "We don't think that's such a good idea."

"What?" Addy snapped. Had he really just said no? "You don't think it's a good idea to let my brother know that I'm safe? Or do you just not want me to tell him that I've been kidnapped by three psychos?" Addy's voice was shaking. Who were _they_ to tell her what she could and couldn't do?

"Calm down, Kid," Dean warned her with a stern look through the rearview mirror.

"Don't piss me off, then tell me to calm down; that's like stabbing me then telling me to stop fucking bleeding!" Addy fumed. "Ya know what? Screw this, screw you!"

"Hey!" Dean warned through gritted teeth. "You do _not_talk to us like that!"

"Just did," Addy pointed out with an arrogant smile and a small huff. "I mean, you guys haven't told me anything! Where the hell are we anyway, huh? Or can I not know that either?" Sam and Dean looked at each other but said nothing. "I'm so out of here," she snarled, as she unbuckled her seat belt and fumbled with the door handle. It wasn't the first time she'd jumped out of a moving vehicle, and it probably wouldn't be her last. She closed her eyes and braced herself to roll, and…

And a giant hand grabbed the back of her shirt, then slammed the lock down, before slapping the back of her head.

"Concussion!" Addy snarled, as she rubbed a hand through her hair.

"Stupidity!" Adam challenged, as he stared the younger girl down.

Dean was livid. _What was the kid trying to do? Get herself killed; jumping out of a moving car._ He swerved into a parking lot belonging to an old dinner, parked himself in a space and then turned around to full out glare at the younger girl. "Look at me kid," Dean ordered, snapping his fingers. "And for your sake, wipe that smug look of your face."

Addy took a deep, calming breath and closed her eyes before looking up at the older man. Yes, she was angry. Yes, she didn't want to be around him anymore. But, she had been taught at a young age to respect and listen to your elders, especially hunters.

"We're trying to keep you safe. That's it. We don't need your cooperation, but it'll make everything a hell-of-a lot easier." Dean looked at the girl. "Understand? And in case you're wondering, there's only one answer I'm looking for."

"You don't even know me," Addy said in a whispered voice.

"Understand?" Dean repeated. He ignored the kid's questions; she was right, he _didn't_ know her. And to be quite honest he wasn't even sure why he was so interested in her well being.

"Yes sir, I understand," Addy sighed as she rubbed her fingers along the bridge of her nose. She'd been brought up in a hunting family, she knew the right answer. She wished she had the guts Jase had; he would have made some cool comment, but looking at the expression on Dean's face, she knew if she said anything else she'd be in trouble.

_"__But still, what the hell have I gotten myself into?"_ Addy slid out of the impala and stretched her hands to the sky before letting them fall lamely to her side. Adam and Sam stood behind her, Dean was in front of her, and Addy realized with a flair of annoyance that she was being boxed in. No way she could make a break for it now, not that she really planned on it. Without her backpack she wouldn't make it far.

"_Well, I'm stuck with it and she better at least get used to the idea_," thought Addy, as Dean led them over to a booth. He motioned for Addy to slide in before Adam sat down next to her. Dean took a seat across from Addy while Sam pushed in next to him. Addy couldn't help but feel just a little bit trapped. Maybe trying to jump out of a moving car hadn't been the best idea.

"Here," Dean grunted as he shoved a menu in her hand.

Addy stared at the cover, she wasn't hungry. She didn't want food. She didn't even want to _be_ there.

"Hi there!" A chipper, blonde and blue eyed waitress interrupted Addy's thoughts. "My name is Tami, and I'll be your waitress today." She flipped her long hair over her shoulder before flashing Dean a smile. "Can I get you folks something to drink?"

"Yeah," Sam nodded. "We'll have three coffees and…" He bit his lip and looked at Addy.

"A water," Addy whispered as she picked up her fork and gently scrapped it against the table.

"Okay, I'll be back for your orders in a few," Tami flashed a smile and a wink before walking away.

"Yeah," Addy scoffed. "Like, she's only after Dean's order."

Dean smiled before objecting, "Hey, she may be hot, but I do have standards. And she, Kid, is jail bait."

"Yeah, whatever," The young girl snorted. "Have fun telling her that…" Addy looked out the window and watched the cars go by, as the table was filled with an uncomfortable awkward silence. She didn't know these men, and they didn't know her. There was nothing to talk about, they had already made it pretty _freakin' _clear to her that they weren't going to tell her anything, and she wasn't going to push the issue. The only thing she was going to do, was wait till they were asleep that night, then slip out of the motel room.

"So," Sam cleared his throat and waited till the young girl had met his eyes before continuing. Talking to someone who was younger than eighteen had always been weird for him, but a girl, well, that was just plain out of his comfort zone. "Uh, um, how long were you at your school for?"

"Lexington's?" Addy asked with a raised eye brow.

"If that's what the name of the school is," Sam flashed her a small smile.

"Uh, yeah, it is. I've been there for like a year…" Addy's voice trailed off and she looked back out the window to watch the cars drive by. She didn't really like talking about _why_ she was there, and she knew that was about to come up.

And sure enough…

"Why'd you decide to go there?" Sam asked. "I don't know a lot of hunting families that are keen on separation."

"That's because there aren't many," Addy answered in a voice that an adult would use while trying to explain a complicated topic to a small child. "Most of the time they like to stay together because there's strength in numbers. And mine did stay together, for a while at least. After my dad died, it was just me and my brother, and things got hard on him; he couldn't handle it. So he dropped me off and left me with duffle back and a warning to be careful. Thought it would be safest, and all that jazz. Guess that didn't work out too well…"

"Safer, thought it would be safer," Sam corrected without thinking about it. The only response he got in return was a glare from the red head.

"Yeah, whatever. Either way it sucked dick," Addy snapped.

"Language," Dean huffed as 'Tami the waitress' started putting their drinks down in front of them. Coffee, Dean definitely needed coffee right about now.

"What can I get ya'll?" Tami asked as she pulled out her pad. Dean ordered, then Sam and Adam, but when it came time for the kid to order, Dean just rolled his eyes. She was staring out the window with her head leaning on her hand.

Was the street really that interesting? At this point she probably knew more about cars than Dean did just by _freakin'_ watching them.

"Honey?" Tami asked before clearing her throat.

"W-what?" Addy asked as she looked over and blinked twice. Everyone was staring at her.

"What can I get for you?" The waitress asked.

"Uh, nothing, thanks. I'm just gonna stick to water."

Tami, the waitress, nodded and then finished writing down the boys orders. Dean, on the other hand, didn't look so satisfied.

"Kid," Dean cleared his throat and looked at the girl. If Addy wasn't mistaken, she could have sworn she saw a hint of concern in his eyes.

But really, all Addy wanted to do was reach across the table and grab his shoulders and scream, "_ADDY! A-D-D-Y! ADDY! That's my name you dumbass!" _but common sense told her that it probably wouldn't go over so well with Dean.

"You've got to eat," He finished.

"Really, I'm fine. Riley and I had a really big dinner last night, I won't be hungry for a while," She even added in a convincing smile.

"All right," Dean shrugged, but he didn't push the topic. He'd just make sure she ate a big dinner to make up for the calories she was missing at breakfast.

"I'll be back with your food…" Waitress Tami trailed off before turning around and high tailing it outta there, leaving the four of them alone once again.

Addy was content with her window, her own little portal into the normal outside world, but she wasn't stupid. Sam looked like he was a little puppy who was about to pee himself because he was so _freakin' _anxious. What did he want? To ask her more questions? Hadn't she answered enough of them? Couldn't they answer some of _her _questions?

"Howoldisyourbrother?" He blurted out.

"Look, I appreciate your attempt at small talk," Addy began. "But I'm really not interested in having a conversation with you about my personal life."

Dean just snorted. "Way to get called out by a twelve year old, Sammy!"

Then, Addy lost it. "Do I _look _twelve to you?" _Twelve? _Getting attacked by a demon she could take, getting kidnapped was tolerable, but being called a _twelve year old?_ Not cool. Not cool at all.

"Uh, well, kinda…" Dean answered. For a little thing she sure had a set of lungs on her. She even looked pissed enough to slap him.

"You just picked me up from a high school, you dumbass!" Addy snapped. "_Twelve? Like, really? What the freakin' heck!"_ Sure, she was short. She accepted that. Her chest was still growing, but it sure as heck wasn't tiny! And her freckles kinda made her look a _little _younger. But twelve? She sure as hell didn't look twelve! For crying out loud, she had gone through puberty! Ok, she'd only had like four periods since her cycle actually started. But, hell; she wasn't twelve.

"Okay, okay," Sam said trying to calm the raging teenager down. "How old _are_ you?"

"Not twelve, that's for sure!" Addy snapped as she glared at Dean.

"Then how old are you?" Adam asked in an attempt to quieted the young girl down.

Addy flashed a warning look to Adam before turning her attention back to Dean. "Twenty-two."

"Kid," Dean warned. Her sarcasm was driving him insane. "How. Old. Are. You?"

"Fifteen," Addy snapped as she slumped back into the booth. "Fifteen freakin' years old." She huffed before taking a deep breath. "And my brother's twenty-six." Well, that was enough of her sharing her personal private information without getting something in return. "What exactly were you three doing in Boston?" It wasn't much, but it was information that Addy definitely deserved to have. "_I'm really, really starting to hate that look,"_ Addy thought as Sam and Dean glanced at each other again.

"We'll talk about it later," Dean promised, but Addy wasn't stupid. 'We'll talk about it later' was adult talk for, 'We're not going to talk about it, and I'm going to sure as hell hope you forget the question'.

She couldn't help it, she was angry again. Stupid raging teenage hormones. "You're not going to tell me anything, are you?"

"We will, but later!" Dean said through gritted teeth. This kid was driving him crazy, he couldn't handle much more. Was he this bad when he was fifteen? He doubted it.

Before Addy could reply the waitress approached and put the boys' breakfasts' on the table, smiling at Dean and leaving. The boys ate in silence, scarfing down their food at an alarming rate.

"Can you let me out?" Addy asked Adam. He looked at her with a questioning look before raising his eyebrow. "I have to piss, and if you don't let me out, I'm going to do it all over you."

Adam shrugged before standing up and letting her out.

"Didn't you just go at the motel?" Dean asked as he chewed on his bacon cheese burger.

"Yeah, and now I have to piss again, thank you so much! Want me to map out my entire schedule for you so you know exactly when I have to take pee breaks?"

Dean wasn't appreciating her sarcasm. In fact, it was pissing him off. Whatever, it's not like he know what a female went through each month. "Five minutes," He grunted before the girl walked off towards the bathroom.

When Addy reached the bathroom she walked right in and slammed the door behind her. Five minutes her ass! She locked the door and pulled out her cell phone from her pocket before leaning against the door and sliding to the ground. As much as she didn't want to make this call, she had to. Maybe this one phone call would make all her problems go away.

Her fingers pounded against the keys before she put the phone against her ear. It kept ringing, until finally a voice on the other end called out, "This is Cody-"

"Cody, it's Adds, we need to-"

"-Please leave a message with your information and call back number and I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

Addy just rolled her eyes. Great, voice mail, that was going to help her; Not!

She hung up the phone and clutched it against her chest. Well, option number one was out of the way, and she really didn't want to stay with these _buttmunches _for much longer. Like seriously? Who the heck were they to give her a limit on her bathroom time? When a girl has to go, she has to go!

"Kid?" A knock sounded on the door as Dean called out. "You in there?"

Addy glanced at the time on her cell phone – five minutes exactly.

"Yeah," Addy responded as she stood up and opened the door. "Sorry, just finished up."

It took Dean all of five seconds to notice her red face and the cell phone in her hand.

"What the hell kid?" He demanded, adding anger to his already pissed off mood. Dean snatched her phone, jammed it into his pocket and grabbed her arm tightly before he frog marched her towards the exit. "We're leaving," He told a confused Sam and Adam before pulling Addy out towards the Impala.

Dean opened the door of his car before shoving the girl in and slamming the door behind her. He barely waited until Sam and Adam were in their seats before peeling out of the parking lot. He was pissed, and Addy knew it. She kept her mouth shut and refused to look up.

"Why?" Dean demanded, taking his frustration out on the speed limit "Why would you make a call even after Sam told you not to?"

"Dean," Sam soothed, attempting to reduce his brother's anger.

"What Sam?" He banged his fist on the steering wheel. "She lied. She's reckless. What's next? She's putting all of our lives in danger!"

"She probably had a good reason, Dean. " Adam pointed out before looking at the girl. "Did you?"

"Yeah, I needed to call my brother," Addy answered.

"Needed to, or wanted to?" Dean snapped.

"Needed to; He's my older brother. When he finds out I'm missing, he's going to flip. The least I can do is leave him a voice mail telling him that I'm not dead. How the hell would you respond if your younger sibling disappeared off the face of the earth and they didn't even bother to call you?" Addy asked. "'Cause I can tell you right now, he won't be okay with it, don't you get that?"

Dean _did _get that, not that he'd ever tell her that. If Sam or Adam ever went missing, he'd tare up the entire country trying to find them. But she didn't know that, how could she? He hit his fist against the steering wheel in annoyance, with a little bit of anger tossed in for good luck. "Addy," Dean responded, using her name for the first time "it's our job to keep you safe right now."

"Why?" She demanded, "Why is it your job?"

"Because, we're hunters. I know you know what that means. We found you Kid that makes it our responsibility to keep you safe. Besides…" His mouth broke into a half grin, "we don't exactly get along with Lilith. Anything we can do to piss her off seems like a good idea in our book."

Addy banged the side of her head against the window in frustration. She knew what being a hunter meant. It meant that when someone needed your help, you give it to them. You take responsibility for those in need and you don't think twice about it. The only annoying thing was that she could take care of herself, but these men didn't know it. And they wouldn't have to know that if they had never found her. Speaking of which… "How'd you find me anyway? I mean, after the whole incident in West Virginia," Addy muttered.

Sam leaned forward to open the glove compartment, he rummaged around inside before grabbing something and closing it. "Here," he said, handing Addy the wallet she thought she lost two weeks ago. She was instantly relieved, the wallet had been a gift from her brother's fiancé before she died. It meant almost as much to her as her backpack.

"I don't understand," Addy began. "All the IDs in here were…"

"Fake?" Sam finished for her. "Yeah, we noticed. We tried to use them to track you down but it didn't work. So, we went for plan B."

She raised her eyebrow.

"Plan B," Dean explained, "was to call the company that distributes that wallet and ask them for the owner. Adam recognized that it was a designer, and Sam told me that they usually keep the names of the owners on file in case someone loses their product and wants to track it down. We gave them the serial number, they gave us your name and last known location."

"They gave you the information just like that?" She asked as she let the doubt seep through her voice. Sounded unlikely, they had to have more security put into place than that.

"Well, no…" Sam said as he shifted uncomfortable in his seat. "We told them that the wallet was found at a crime scene and that we needed to bring the owner in for questioning."

"Oh…" Addy muttered. That would do it.

"They gave us your name, well, at least kinda… They said your name was A. Noel and that you were living at a boarding school just outside of Boston. We hacked into the school's data base and used that information that we had to track you down," Sam finished.

They weren't just hunters, Addy realized as she leaned against the back seat. They were _good _hunters. "I'm impressed."

"Really?" Dean asked. Something told him that she didn't get impressed too easily.

"Yeah," Addy nodded. "It's not every day you meet a couple of pure dumbasses who manage to use a wallet full of lies to track you down."

Sam ignored the dumbass comment as Dean pulled into the motel parking lot. They got out of the car before Sam turned to face the girl. "What do you mean; a wallet full of lies?"

"Well, for one, my name obviously isn't A. For another, my last name isn't Noel," Addy explained as Dean unlocked the door and let everyone in before shutting and bolting the door.

Addy turned around to notice all three men staring at her. "What?" She snapped. "It's not like I know _your _last names."

"What's your last name, Kid?" Dean asked as he tensed his body up to prepare for an attack. All the information they had known about her was fake, they knew as much about her as she knew about them.

Her last name didn't change who she was… Addy didn't get why all three men suddenly looked worried. "It's Campbell-Noel. My last name is hyphenated. Like, I have both of my parents last names instead of one. Addy, well, Adeline actually, but no one calls me that unless I'm in trouble; Adeline Mary Campbell-Noel."

Campbell… Campbell… Where had Dean heard that name before? Dean turned to look at Sam who had suddenly turned white as a sheet, and suddenly it all clicked together.

"Noel's just an alias you used at school?" Adam asked, none the wiser. How the heck was he supposed to know, after all?

"I use it for a couple of other things, but yeah, pretty much," She nodded.

"Addy," Sam said calmly and slowly as he waited for the girl to look him in the eyes before continuing. "When we first saw you in West Virginia, were you lying about John Winchester being your uncle?"

"No…" Addy said slowly. "I wouldn't lie about something like that. Why?"

Dean slumped back into one of the cheap motel room before running a hand over his face. This couldn't be happening… He looked up to meet the girl's eyes. "John knew he had a niece?"

"All my life," Addy nodded as she crossed her arms and furrowed her eyebrows. "Why?"

"Because," Dean swallowed. "I'm Dean Winchester, and these are my brother's Sam and Adam."

Addy felt her jaw drop, as she glanced at Dean, Sam and then Adam. "Well," Addy whispered before shifting awkwardly. "I guess we know what Lilith wants now."


	5. Connecting the Dots

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own Supernatural...

* * *

**

Damn; Dean wanted a beer. Actually something stronger would be even better. Jack, John, or Jose, would be really nice right about now. He'd only ever really doubted his father during two points in his life. The first time he was twenty-two and in a rage, his father had disowned Sam for wanting to go to college. The second time was now. Where, in a rundown hotel room in Nowheresville America, he had discovered his father had once again kept a larger-than-life secret from his sons'.

Just over a month ago, Dean had answered his father's phone and his life had been forever changed when he was greeted by the frantic voice of a young man who claimed to be John Winchester's son. Several hours, and a couple of states later, Dean and Sam had met a 18 year old Adam that was far too stubborn and hot headed _not_ to be a Winchester. Within the course of a day Dean had discovered that, even three years after his death, his father was still keeping a fair share of secrets from his sons. Adam, who previously had no knowledge of the supernatural, barely made it out of Windom alive. After taking out the Ghouls who had killed Adam's mother, Adam had packed his bag, abandoned his life as a college student and hit the road with his new found brothers.

Never once had Dean questioned his father's decision to keep the supernatural a secret from his youngest son. Adam had been allowed to grow up as a normal kid. Something Dean had only briefly glimpsed and Sam had merely dreamed of. He knew that the encounter with the Ghouls had brought out the hunter in Adam. As much as it bothered him that he was ignoring his father's wish for Adam's normalcy, Dean couldn't imagine not having the kid on the road with them. There was just too much bad shit that could hurt Adam if he wasn't around him.

And now, only weeks after meeting Adam for the first time, Dean was forced to question his father for the first time in almost eight years. In front of him sat a small teenage girl who, in an instant, went from being a complete stranger to a huge part of the Winchester's lives. Earlier that year Dean had been sent back in time to discover a young version of his father and mother. During that brief trip he never once encountered any sort of evidence supporting the fact that his mother _wasn't_ an only child.

_'Guess that goes to show,'_ Dean couldn't help but think '_just when you think you've got something figured out it catches you by surprise.'_

"Addy," Sam began, a slightly in aw look on his face "how exactly are you related to our Dad?"

Dean couldn't believe the situation. Addy clearly knew about the supernatural, she had implied that she herself was a hunter. Or she could be from a hunting family. So why, _why_ would his dad keep the existence of her a secret? The hunter in Dean couldn't help but be cautious of the young girl. The kid seemed just as taken back with the situation as the Winchesters. Dean watched as a look of comprehension dawned on the kid's face as the realization of what he just said sunk in.

'_Man, this is so screwed up. I really need a drink.'_

But looking at her now, Dean began to notice the similarity between Sam and Addy, his freakin' _cousin. _Her eyes, jaw line, and general facial structure all were similar to him and Sam. All of these things were a part of Dean, and all of these things pointed to one thing. They were family. At that moment, Dean Winchester was sure of one thing. Nothing was going to happen to the kid, not on his watch.

**O~O~O~O~O~O~O**

For as long as Addy could remember, John Winchester had been a part of her life. He had been there the day she was born and for most birthdays and other important events as she grew up. Whenever she'd been in trouble, he always been only a call away. With all of these factors, Addy had assumed she had known her uncle fairly well. But Dean's simple statement declaring himself a Winchester had succeeded in shaking Addy's life completely.

There were a few things in her life that Addy was sure she had complete knowledge of. It was a fact that she was the youngest of three; she had an older sister and an older brother. She had always known that her uncle had married her mother's sister. She knew that Mary Winchester had died in a fire after nine years of marriage to John Winchester. She had always known that during that time period they hadn't had any children… Or so she had thought.

"Addy," Sam began, a slightly in aw look on his face "how exactly are you related to our Dad?"

"My mom Sarah," Addy stared at Sam, voice shaking as she spoke "was John's wife's younger sister."

Sam signed deeply; Dean looked like he wasn't sure whether to yell or punch a wall and Adam just sat back, assessing the situation. "Dean and me," Sam said, gesturing to his older brother "our mom, is Mary."

Addy flopped back onto the bed, a laugh escaping her lips. "You're kidding right? This is some sort of cruel joke?" Addy couldn't help but ask. But when she sat back up Sam was pale and Dean wouldn't meet her eyes. "Holy crap." She murmured to herself before speaking up. "So what, you guys are my cousins?"

Sam began pacing around the room and after several failed attempts managed to open his mouth and declare "Apparently. Look Addy," he said, sitting on the bed next to her "we had no idea that you existed up until two weeks ago. And now, we find out that we're related… It's a lot to take in."

"A lot to take in?" She fumed, jumping off the bed to glare at Sam "A lot to take in? How the hell do you think I feel? Do you think I'm all high and mighty and ok with this? I was lied to too you know!"

"Yeah well, you didn't just find out about a half-brother your dad kept from you." Dean snapped

"What?"

"Adam," Dean explained "we literally just found out about him. And now this?" Dean gestured to Addy as if she could help the current situation "A couple weeks later and we find out we have a cousin _and_ a brother our dad never told us about."

"Three," Addy corrected.

"Wh-what?" Addy really didn't like the way Dean was looking at her

She shifted uncomfortably and crossed her arms "Three cousins, you have three cousins you didn't know about. I'm the youngest of three."

"Fan freakin' tastic!" Dean fumed, throwing up his hands in anger. "Watch the kids Sam, I need a drink." Dean stormed out of the room, slamming the motel room shut behind him.

You could've cut the tension in that room with a knife. Addy was pissed. She had every right to be as angry as the Winchesters. It wasn't her fault that she was related to them. She hadn't known any more then they had. And yet, based on the way Dean had been acting, it was her fault. Chances were, Dean wasn't usually like this. But the stressful situation had probably pushed him to his last nerve. Addy knew she wasn't exactly helping the situation much either.

Dean was right about one thing, a drink did sound good… Well, not a drink exactly. Addy wanted a run. A long run which would leave her exhausted, and able to sleep without dreaming.

"Where are you going?" Adam asked as Addy stood up and made her way to the door.

"I need some air." She explained, swallowing slightly. She needed to get out of the room, she needed to breath. '_Please, please let them not give me a hard time about this.'_

Sam looked apprehensive, clearly not wanting to let Addy out of his sight. Even Adam, who had barely said more than five words to her, didn't look too keen on the idea.

"What am I frigging five? I'm plenty old enough to go outside myself. I'm not a baby." Seeing that they weren't eager to let her go. Addy went from frustration to desperation. "Please." She found herself begging "I'm not going anywhere; I just need to clear my head. Even demons aren't stupid enough to attack me in broad daylight. "

Biting his lip nervously, Sam reluctantly nodded. "Fine, but don't go too far and you better be back here before Dean. Because if I have to come looking for you…" he didn't bother finishing his threat. It didn't seem like Sam angered easily … Or at least as easily as Dean. But Addy had the feeling that when he got angry, he got _really_ angry. Not wanting to unleash the wrath of Sam, Addy nodded in agreement before heading out the door.

"Alright, how does four miles and thirty minutes sound?" She asked herself out loud, checking the watch on her left wrist to verify the time. Normally it would only take her twenty minutes, but considering how out of shape she was…

She made sure she was out of view of the motel room before she began running, her feet hitting the pavement faster and faster. She didn't know where she was running to; she just knew she needed to clear her head. Running was the way she'd been dealing with her issues for as long as she could remember. Whenever things got too hard to deal with, Addy would take off on at run. Running for miles and miles without stopping. More than once she had found herself in a strange town, hours away from where ever she was staying. Cody had to come get her a lot of times when she'd run so long she couldn't walk back because she was so exhausted.

Growing up, it drove her brother crazy. He always wanted to know where she was, and when she disappeared for hours on end, he would always feel like he failed to protect her. But running was the one thing that always made her feel invincible, like nothing could affect her even when she had a million things going on in her life.

Too bad the feeling couldn't last. Reluctantly Addy brought herself to a stop in front of the motel, hands resting on her knees as she concentrated on her breathing. Four miles, she checked her watch to verify the time. She had made her goal, just barely, but endurance would come back with time.

Last time she could even remember going running was last fall during her team's soccer season. Honestly, she hadn't really loved the whole 'team sports' thing, but she had used it as a chance to stay in shape and hone her reflexes as the team's goalie. Sometime in between the season ending, hanging out with Riley, and the snowfall Massachusetts brings during the winter, she had fallen out of the habit of going on the 2 a.m. runs she took a few times a week.

Insomnia was something that every hunter seemed to have. Addy dealt with it by running it off and it worked for her.

Granted, this wasn't 2 a.m., more like noon. Clearly the Winchester's internal clock was programmed a little differently than most peoples, because when Adam had decided to claim they were going to breakfast, it had actually been around ten-thirty. Still, when you were a hunter you got sleep whenever you could. It made for some pretty interesting sleep patterns; but, when you spend your entire life on the road you kinda got used to it.

Addy waited till her heart beat was back down to its normal pace before walking over to the giant maple tree that stood on the edge of the motel parking lot. She jumped up, grabbed a branch and, using pure upper body strength, hoisted herself up. Limb after limb passed by as Addy climbed to highest point possible in the tree, coming to rest on a sturdy branch at least thirty-five feet up. There was just something so comfortable about being up high where nothing could touch you.

Besides, from this high, she could see the whole town. It was kind of hard to believe that below her; there were people whose lives hadn't just been turned upside down. Up here Addy was an owl in its nest. But, in reality Addy, was in Godonlyknowswhereville, and based off of a single afternoon's events, her live was never going to be the same. She had discovered three new family members.

Ok, so _technically_ only two were related by blood. But, since when had blood been the only thing to determine who family was? If Sam and Dean were Addy's cousins and Adam was their brother, as far as she was concerned, he was family too. Well, to be completely honest she didn't think of any of them as family right now. They just met, how could she?

Jase and Riley were family. Jase had taken her to get her anti-possession tattoo last fall, despite her moaning and bitching that she didn't need it. Not that Jase really cared, he just told her to shut up, suck it up and 'sit in the goddamn chair, Half-pint'. Looking back at it now – he'd applied peer pressure. "All the cool kids are doing it." At Lexington's a lot of the seniors had tattoos, it was cool to be able to one-up them at their own game. Jase had signed as her 'parent or guardian.' And it wasn't just peer pressure that convinced Addy to do it. She'd seen what getting possessed did to a person. Jase had even almost managed to convince Riley; but, Riley had wimped out at the last minute. She hated needles.

And Riley was Riley. Just thinking about Riley made Addy feel a little better. She ran her fingers over the Celtic knot pendent Riley had given her, before grabbing the silver cross necklace she had on under it. Each necklace was given to her by someone who had made a huge impact on Addy's life. The first necklace was the one Riley had given her twenty 24 hours before. Though the necklace had never meant much to Addy; it had meant the world to Riley. No one outside of Riley's family was supposed to wear it; by giving it to Addy she'd showed how their friendship had flourished into something more, a sisterhood. The necklace was over 200 years old and held some pretty powerful protection spells that would most definitely come in handy some day.

God she missed Riley. It had been just over a year since Addy showed up at Lexington's last February; since then, Riley had become her family. When Riley found out that Addy was going to stay at school over their April vacation she'd invited her home. The Evens family had accepted her into their arms; they included her in family events. Last summer she'd been invited to celebrate summer solstice with them. The summer solstice is one of the most powerful celebrations in the Wiccan calendar. It is the celebration of the sun's peak of power at the end of the waxing cycle of the wheel. Addy had felt wanted and loved when she was surrounded with the Evan's. They encouraged her to learn, let her help collect healing herbs. Bríghid Evans; Riley's mom; had even given Addy the whole puberty/period talk. Cody wasn't going to give it to her; well, he wouldn't have given it to her if he'd been around. She encouraged Addy to call her mom. She missed Riley; and wanted to call her or Bríghid.

The other necklace Addy always wore was a simple silver cross with a light blue topaz in the middle, her birthstone. It had been a gift from her mother that she had received on her eighth birthday, a birthday her mother hadn't been alive for. Sarah Campbell-Noel had died in a nursery fire on the night that marked the sixth month anniversary of Addy's birth. Before her death she had purchased the necklace, intending on giving it to her daughter when she became old enough. Addy had no memories of her mother; but, had been very touched when she received the gift from the women she had never really known. In the eight years she had owned the cross, she had never once taken it off. It was the only thing that Addy had of her mother's. It gave her a sense of connection to her. Whenever she felt lost or confused, Addy found herself fingering it, as if this simple piece of jewelry could provide her with the advice her long dead mother would have given her.

Hours passed as Addy just sat in the tree, thinking about everything that had happened to her. She looked over the town and thought about who in her family could have possibly known about the existences of cousins. Her parents had most definitely known, as for Canley and Cody… Chances were they had known all along too. What was up with the big secret about Sam, Dean, and Adam? Why hadn't Canley and Cody told her about them? They were reasonably close to the eldest Winchesters in age. Oh, this was irritating.

Addy was willing to bet the explanation lay within the death of the two Campbell sisters. Mary, her mother's older sister, had died in a house fire eleven years before Addy's mother. What were the chances of two sisters dying in different house fires, even more than a decade apart? Not good, that's for sure. The logical explanation?

Ok, so it wasn't _exactly _logical, but it was most certainly probable.

Something supernatural had caused one, or maybe even both, of the Campbell sister's deaths.

Looking into the distance, Addy noticed the sun hugging the horizon. Panic lunched in her stomach as she looked at her watch, discovering it was well past seven o'clock. She knew how mad Cody always was if she went out for air and didn't come back for six or so hours and was willing to bet Sam and Dean weren't much different. So she looked down at the parking lot and sighed in relief upon noticing the lack of an Impala, still it was getting late… Addy scrambled down the tree, making it down faster then she thought possible before making her way to the motel room, running smack into an Adam who looked just as surprised to see her, as she was to see him.

Adam, however, managed to not fall to the ground due to the sudden force of their bodies impacting. Addy, on the other hand, was not so lucky. She fell backwards into a pile of half melted snow, her bad arm catching her fall.

"Oh Jeeze, Addy, I didn't see you there. I'm sorry." Adam bent down, grabbing Addy's already hurt arm to pull her up. The pain of Adam grabbing on to her arm, in addition to the lurch of pain the fall had given her, made Addy act reflexively. She screamed, kicking Adam on the side of his knee, causing him to fall and just missing the pile Addy had just gotten up from. "What the heck?" he fumed, angry that the small girl was able to take him down so easily "What the heck was that for?"

"I'm-I'm sorry." She apologized, cradling her bad arm while stretching out the good one for Adam.

"It's ok Kid." He mumbled, affectionately rumpling her already messy hair. "Let's get you inside, you're soaking wet, and besides, you've been gone forever and Sam's worried."

**O~O~O~O~O~O~O**

Sam was _never_ letting her out of his sight ever again.

Before meeting Adam, Sam had never really understood where Dean's 'big brother protective vibe' came from. He knew that his dad had programmed the idea of protecting him into Dean from a young age. But it had never once occurred to Sam that it wasn't necessarily a learned behavior. That it was something built into every fiber of your being. That when you were an older brother, the only thing that mattered was keeping you're your siblings safe.

But when he met Adam, things changed. He understood that being an older sibling wasn't something you were taught, it was something that you just were. It didn't matter that he had never met Adam. It didn't matter that he was 18, legally an adult. It only mattered that Adam was his brother; therefore it was his job to keep him safe.

In the short time they had known each other, Sam had adjusted to his role as the older brother well, finally glad that he wasn't the baby of the family anymore. He was teaching Adam hunting techniques, running with him most mornings, showing him how important family was, and what it meant to be a Winchester. Finally, after almost twenty-six years, he understood why Dean had always been so protective of him. There was just too much bad stuff that could happen when you weren't looking.

Now Addy had made an appearance in the Winchester's lives, completely turning it upside down again in a ridiculously short amount of time. He had agreed to let go out for air by herself, reluctantly; but, he had to let Addy take some time to breathe and cool off after everything that had happened. That was almost eight hours ago. Eight hours, he had told her that she could have her alone time and she had been gone for eight _frickin'_ hours. Enough was enough. Based off of everything Sam had noticed about Addy, it was clear that she was incredibly unlucky. If she wasn't laying dead in some random gutter by now, she would be soon enough.

"Hey, Adam," Sam said to his younger brother, looking up from his laptop that contained an extensive amount of information he had accumulated about Addy in the past several hours. "I need you to go find Addy. I don't like how long she's been gone."

"Sure," the youngest Winchester said, standing up and stretching. "To be honest I was about to go look for her anyway."

"Thanks. Make sure to take your cell phone with you, and don't be gone too long. If anything happens call, don't go too far-"

"I got it Dad." He said with a slight chuckle as he made his way out of the door.

_'God, I'm beginning to sound like Dean'_

Sam sat in the motel room for three minutes before a scream sounded. A female scream. _'Crap, Addy!'_

He crossed the motel room in three strides, determined to make sure his younger cousin and brother were alright. Dean would _kill_ him if anything happened to them.

Adam had only been around for about a month; but, already he and Dean were extremely close, he let the kid drive the _Impala_ for crying out loud, and Addy… Sam didn't know much about her; but, he'd be dammed if he let anything happen to her.

Throwing open the door, Sam was greeted by sight of a protective looking Adam and a soaking wet Addy. Thankfully they both looked fine, other than the fact that Addy was shivering and trying hide the fact that she was hugging her injured arm. "What happened?"

"Nothing," she said, shaking her head slightly.

"Really? Then why are you so wet and holding your arm like that?" She shifted her weight from leg to leg; uncomfortable under his gaze. Sam gestured for Addy to hold out her injured arm.

"It's fine." She said, hugging her arm closer, not letting Sam look at it.

It wasn't fine, not by a longshot. Sam noticed blood on the bandages. "Please, just let me look at it."

She hesitated for a second before reluctantly nodding and unwrapping the bandage to reveal the butterflies that had come undone. "What happened?"

"I kind of ran into her and knocked her down." Adam confessed, handing Sam the First Aid kit he'd grabbed from his duffel.

"You two need to be more careful, you're lucky nothing else happened."

"Sorry." Addy muttered, her eyes downcast. Sam was pleasantly surprised to notice that she actually meant it.

Sam did his best to patch up his cousin as fast as possible, she was shivering uncontrollably and needed to take a hot shower and change clothes. As soon as he'd cleaned out her cut, and re-butterflied it. Addy jumped up and muttered "Thank God." Before grabbing her duffel and retreating to the bathroom.

"Don't lock the door!" He yelled after her, annoyed when he heard the soft click of the bathroom lock.

'_Dean would probably kick down the door right about now. I'll just wait till she comes out and explain how we need it open in case of an emergency. Speaking of which, where is Dean?'_

"Sam, where's Dean?" Adam asked

_'Well that was kind of creepy.' _Sam thought, look at his younger brother.

"Don't know, I'm sure he'll be back soon."

Adam nodded, walking over to his bag and taking out a large book Sam had given him to help hone his hunting skills. Sam walked back over to his laptop, once again going through all the notes that surrounded it; each and everyone one about Addy and her family. He read each of the notes carefully, surprised at how much he'd found out. Hunting families usually lived very close to completely off the grid. He still couldn't figure out if the availability of information was a good or bad thing.

Either way, once Dean got back he'd-

The motel room slammed open and Sam grabbed his Breretta 92FS he had placed on table just in case something tried to break into the hotel room. It had happened before. This time, however, it wasn't something supernatural, it was just his older brother.

Adam, however, didn't know that. He jumped off the bed, holding his book in front of him like it would protect him from whatever had entered the room. "Relax Spazoids." Dean joked, slamming the door shut behind him and shrugging off his jacket. "Sammy, put the gun down before you shoot yourself."

"Sorry Dean." He muttered clicking the safety back on and putting it back on the table.

"Where's the kid?"

"In the shower."

"Crap, there goes all the hot water." Dean grumbled sitting on the edge of one of the beds; kicking off his books.

"So where have you been?" Sam asked; not sure he really wanted the answer.

"Around." Dean gave Sam a smile and he instantly knew what Dean had been up to.

"Is everything about sex with you?"

"Not everything," He said looking offended "just most things…"

Before Sam could retort, the bathroom door swung open, revealing Addy dressed in a baggy sweat shirt and sweat pants, red hair pulled back into a tight braid. Her shower had lasted under ten minutes, even with her long hair she had managed to shower even faster than Sam. Dean could do a shower in three minutes flat, four and a half if he shaved, five and half if brushed his teeth. Sam and Dean were presently surprised at the realization that just because she was a girl, didn't mean that she was necessarily girly.

Looking over Adam noticed how absolutely exhausted she looked. She stumbled over to her tan backpack, unzipped it and pulled out a surprisingly thick blanket, wrapping it around herself and flopping down on the couch, positioning herself horizontally and closed her eyes.

'_What else does she have in that bag?'_

"Tired?" Dean asked her, slightly amused.

"Shut up, I'm trying to sleep." She muttered grabbing a throw pillow and using it to try and block out sound.

"It's only nine. What the heck did you do today that was so draining?"

Addy shoved the pillow behind her head before glaring at Dean. You're the one who decided to fricking kidnap me and take me on a cross country road trip of _America's Worst Motel Rooms_. The least you could do is let me sleep. We're leaving in the morning anyway, aren't we?"

"Yeah," Dean confessed. "Get some sleep kid. The last thing I want to deal with tomorrow is a moody teenager."

Addy flipped Dean off before turning around to face the inside of the couch. Within minutes she was asleep, body curled tightly into a ball, snoring lightly.

Sam looked at his older brother who was grinning slightly, looking at the younger girl as if she was the most precious thing in the world.

"Dean." Sam said, loudly enough to get his attention, but quietly enough so that he didn't wake the sleeping girl. Dean look embarrassed that his brother had caught him in what he would normally classify as a 'chick flick moment'. He walked over and sat next to Sam at the small table, motioning for Adam to join him.

Sam waited patiently for Adam to shut his book and sit down next to him before he turned his computer screen around to show his brothers what he had collected about Addy. Staring out at them was a black and white picture of a smiling family complete with a mother, father, a teenage daughter, a preteen son and a smiling baby. The caption read _Local Women Killed in Nursery Fire_. Dean read further, discovering that like himself, Addy had lost her mother in a fire. At the time she had only been six months, no way in hell was that a coincidence.

"So what?" Dean asked staring at Sam. "Azazel killed her mom? You don't think she's infected with demon blood, do you?"

"I don't know Dean." Sam confessed, running his hand through his hair. "We're going to have to keep an eye on her and make sure that isn't the case."

"What else did you find out about her family?" Adam asked.

"A lot actually. There's no way we aren't related Dean." Sam shifted the papers, revealing three birth certificates and various news paper articles. "Her mother Sarah was our mom's younger sister; she married Michael Noel in '77 when she was 19. Two years later they had their first kid. Addy wasn't lying about being the youngest of three. She has a much older sister Canley who's the C.I.O of a big corporation in Wisconsin. I think it's fair to say that she's not in the family business though. Canley has tax records and a permanent residence, not exactly the normal practice for a hunter. Her brother Cody on the other hand," Sam clicked on another icon and again turned the screen to Adam and Dean. "The last record I have of him is his high school diploma. No tax records, nothing. Typical hunter."

"How old are her brother and sister?" Dean asked, fingering through the papers. He glanced over at Addy who was moaning in her sleep, but there wasn't anything he could do for her. She was jumpy enough that if he tried to calm her in her sleep, like he used to do with Sam, she'd wake up. So it was probably better to let her sort through the nightmare in her sleep.

"That's the thing, Canley, you're two weeks older than her. And her brother Cody, he's three months older than me. Our moms were pregnant together. Do you know what that means?" Sam asked, looking at his older brother.

"There's a massive age gap between their kids?"

Sam rolled his eye at his brother before opening his mouth and explaining "We've probably met them before. When we were younger, at least before Mom died, and we just don't remember it."

"Ok Sherlock, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Something must have happened, there's probably a good reason you guys stopped seeing them." Adam explained for Sam

"Exactly, now if we can just figure it out-"

"Slow down Sam." Dean snapped running his hand through his hair "If Dad never told us about her there's probably a good reason for that. We have to respect the fact that he never told us about Addy for a reason."

"You mean like he never told us about Adam?" Adam shifted uncomfortably, not liking the sudden attention. "Yeah, he never told us about Adam and he almost died. And he never told us about Addy and she got attacked by a demon. I don't know about you Dean, but I'm seeing a pattern here."

Dean slammed his fist on the table, really wanting to slap some sense into Sam; but, resisting the urge. "I know Sam; but, dad always had his reasons for doing whatever he did."

Sam looked over at Addy; he didn't want her to wake up. "Keep it down Dean." He gestured at the sleeping child. "Dad's dead Dean. He left us with a younger cousin and a younger brother who need our help. To help Addy, we need to find out _why_ we just found out about her, or at least why she has the demons after her. And chances are the two are connected."

Dean sighed, not liking the way his brother had just spoken to him. "You're right, it kills me to admit it, but you're right. Chances are we'll find out about everything without meaning to as time goes on. In the mean time, we should probably get some sleep. Bobby called, he found us a hunt a couple of states away; we're leaving bright and early tomorrow morning."

"What are we hunting?" Adam asked

"Werewolves."

"Dean," Sam said, surprised at his brother pick in hunts "the full moons two weeks away. In case you've forgotten, we're on Hell's door step right now. You do remember the impending apocalypse right?"

"I know Sam! You and Cas won't get off of my back about that. There aren't any seals in danger of breaking right now, and people still need our help even if it isn't related to the apocalypse."

"But why so early? There are other hunts we can go on until the full moon."

"You know how freakin' annoying werewolves are. They're next to impossible to track down; the last thing we need to do is wait till the week of the full moon to start hunting them and get another person killed."

"What are we going to do about Addy?" Adam asked.

"The same thing we're going to do about you." Dean said with a smile "You two are sitting it out. You're both benchwarmers for this one."

"Dean," Adam protested.

"I don't want to hear it Adam." He shook his head "You're not ready to go up against a werewolf, and we don't know anything about Addy's hunting abilities."

Adam looked slightly pissed at Dean, but Dean didn't seem to care. "Addy wasn't kidding you know." Adam said, surprising Dean.

"She wasn't kidding about what?" Sam asked, confused.

"She really can take care of herself. She took me down without even thinking about it earlier. I think she just doesn't want anyone to know how good she really is… Either that or she just doesn't know it herself."

Dean looked at his little brother in confusing. "What the heck did you do to make her attack you?"

"Me?" Adam asked in confusing, pointing to himself "I didn't do anything. After you left, she went out to get some air. She'd been gone for a while so Sam told me to go find her and I ran into-"

"What Sam?" Dean hissed, glaring at his brother "You let her out of your sight? Do you know how stupid that was?"

"Dean I-" Sam tried to defend himself, he hated getting chewed out by Dean, but Dean didn't let him.

"It's almost the freakin' APOCALYPSE Sam!" He yelled. "The demons want her and you let her out of your sight? She could have died!"

"But she didn't Dean-" Sam began.

"It's the apocalypse?" Addy asked softly, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

Dean glared at Sam, giving him a 'look what you did now' look before turning to face his confused cousin. Sam was surprised Addy didn't know what was going on; apparently she really _had_ been isolated during the past year.

"What do you mean it's almost the apocalypse?" She asked again, a little more soberly this time.

"Well, it's just that, um… You're having a dream?" Dean suggested, not wanting to explain it to the girl. She hadn't known for a reason, and he felt out of place explaining it to her.

"No, I'm not." She said, looking at Dean with determination; it was the same look Sam gave him when he wasn't going to back down. Addy wasn't going to give up till she knew what was going on. "Please, can you just tell me the truth?"

Sam watched the internal struggle went on within his brother. Part of Dean wanted to tell Addy the truth. He wanted to keep her safe; there was a lot of safety in not knowing about the supernatural.

"What do you know about the apocalypse Addy?" Sam asked, looking at the confused girl.

"Not much, just the basic stuff from the Bible." She admitted.

"Sam we can't just-"

"She's part of this now Dean; she has every right to know!" Sam yelled at his older brother.

"This is so screwed up. Do you remember when we use to try our hardest _not_ to let people know what was going on?" Dean asked his brother, shaking his head slightly.

Addy looked at Dean intently, sitting up cross legged and giving him a very serious look before opening her mouth "Dean." She explained softly and quite maturely; surprising everyone in the room. "The world of hunting is as much a part of me as it is you. Whatever is going on, it's my job to try and stop it. Even if I _am_ only fifteen."

Dean swore softly "Damn it! What am I supposed to say to that?"

"How about the truth?" Addy suggested.

Sam watched as Dean ran a hand over his face. "Fine!" He yelled "but listen up, because I'm only explaining this once."

A smile of satisfaction crossed Addy's face. She nodded, a gesture for Dean to begin. For the next two hours Dean and Sam told Addy everything. Everything from Dean's resurrection to meeting Adam just over a month ago, even the angels, but they mostly pressed upon the issues of the sixty-six seals and what would happen if they were broken. Occasionally Addy would interrupt him, asking a polite question that Dean or Sam would answer before continuing on in the story. It was interesting for Adam too; he'd heard most of the parts before. But, this was the first time he'd heard all of it strung together in one cohesive story.

The thing that really took Sam by surprise was the fact that even though Addy must have been shocked, and maybe a little scared, she never showed it. Instead she hid her emotions behind a dang good poker face and various nods indicating that she understood what Dean was saying.

"So," she said once Dean had completely finished "Lilith is pretty B.A. then?"

"Yeah," Dean let out an unamused laugh "you could say that."

"It explains a lot, the whole 'impending apocalypse' thingy."

"It does?" Adam asked looking at Addy like she had an extra head

To be honest Sam was feeling the same way. Addy just sat there, so accepting and calm. It would make him feel so much better if she exploded, yelling at them that they were crazy and had no idea what they were talking about. She didn't though.

"Yeah, my brother told me something about seals breaking before he dropped me off at school last February. That and something a demon said to me a couple of months ago implied the apocalypse was coming. I should have seen it before."

"Wait," Sam said. "Your brother knew about this last February? The first seal was only broken this summer."

Addy shrugged, unsure of what to say "My brother knows things, sometimes before they even happen."

"Like a psychic?"

"Kind of." Addy tried to explain. "It's complicated."

Sam decided not to push her any farther, at least for the time being.

"What did the demon say to you?" Dean asked, thinking about what his cousin had just told him.

"He said he'd be surprised if I lived to see the end of the world, no matter how soon it may be."

"Why would a demon say that to you?" Dean asked, not liking the attention she seemed to be getting from demons.

"Why would a demon do a lot of things? The truth is I'll probably never know." Addy looked up to notice the angry look on his face. "What?"

"Look Kid, if a demon talks to you, go nears you, or does _anything_ involving you, you need to tell me. I don't care if it was before we met or not, I want to know. Alright?" Addy looked away "Alright?" Dean asked again.

"Alright!" Addy snapped, running a hand through her bangs "You're controlling, you know that?"

Sam was surprised when his older brother just laughed. "Go to sleep kid, we're leaving bright and early."

Addy sighed and curled back into a small ball, her body relaxing and eyes dropping. "Dean?" She whispered softly.

"Yeah Kid?" He said in an equally as quiet voice.

"Thanks." And with that her breathing evened out and she was once again fell asleep again.

Dean walked over to his younger cousin, tucking her blanket in around her so that she wouldn't get cold. "No problem Kid. Sleep tight." He didn't care that she couldn't hear him; he wanted to say it anyway.


	6. Early Morning Expeditions

**Alright, so here's the next chapter. I'd like to thank Hicks07 for being amazing and editing this chapter for me! So, anyway, hope you like it and please review!  
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**Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own supernatural...**

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"So, _why_ exactly are we going to Kentucky?" Addy asked her voice verging on a whine, shifting around the bench seat, trying to ease her stiff limbs. True to his word, Dean had woken everyone up bright and early... 0600 hours to be exact. Addy had nearly bitten off the hand that Dean had used to shake her awake. Adam had been just as cooperative, swearing like a sailor as soon as he saw the clock. Dean had merely told the two teens that he and Sam had already been out for a run, showered and packed the car. They hadn't wanted to wake the youngins who had been sleeping so angelically. Adam chucked a pillow at Dean over being woken up and being called angelic before he rolled over, pulling the blankets up over his head. Dean yanked the blankets off Adam first, then Addy telling both of them to be in the car in five minutes or they were leaving without them. An empty threat, obviously, but still both teenagers had made it to the car where Dean and Sam already sat, annoyingly awake. Dean flipped on the radio, singing along to Metallica as they began their trip.

And there they sat, twelve hours and two short pit stops later. Addy had spent her time missing Riley, thinking about the silly little things they did to pass time when they were bored, listening to her iPod, and rereading her mother's old hunting journal for about the 50th time. The book had originally been given to her older sister Canley. But after she had given up the world of hunting to pursue a normal life as a civilian she had reluctantly given it to Addy, really wishing her sister would choose normalcy but knowing it would never actually happen. The red leather journal was a good three and half inches thick and held various entries from when her mother had first gotten it on her fifteenth birthday until her last entry on the day of Addy's birth.

The second pit stop was been kinda funny. While Sam and Dean were making a bathroom run, Addy and Dean had gotten out of the car to stretch. Dean handed her a soda, mumbling about how she must be thirsty; something about the way he had said it made her uncertain. Instead of opening the drink she waited till Adam came back, handing him the drink with a small smile. Unlike her, Adam didn't hesitate in opening the drink. His reward was volcano of carbonated beverage spewing all over his clothing. Dean let out a barking laugh before telling his brother to go change clothes because there was 'no way in hell Adam was gettin' his baby covered in that crap'. Adam changed and in less than five minutes they were back on the road. The Winchester men sure had a weird way of 'family bonding.' If you could call spraying someone with soda that.

"Because I said so." Dean said, answering Addy's earlier question.

"Huh?" Adam and Addy asked looking at each other.

"Why we're going to Kentucky"

"Thanks, that _really_ clears things up." Addy grumphed at him, rolling her eyes at Adam.

"No problem Kid. What are you reading so intently there?"

"This?" Addy asked, holding up the journal "It's a book; you know one of those things that contains printed word."

"You're reading a book?" Sam said with a laugh "I never would have guessed."

"Well that's too bad." Addy said with a sarcastic frown "I would have assumed you were smart enough to figure it out for yourself."

Dean rolled his eyes. "I mean what book is it."

"Does it really matter? It's just a-Hey! Adam! Give it back!" Addy leaned over, playfully fighting the youngest Winchester for the book. Her attempts were useless; he was able to hold her back with one hand. "Deeeean," She whined "Adam stole my book. Tell him to give it" she smacked his arm away and made another grab for it "back; tell him to give it back!"

"Tattle tale." Adam mumbled "This isn't a book; it's a diary."

"It's a journal; not a diary. It was my mothers hunting journal." Addy snapped, grabbing the book while Adam wasn't looking.

"Why so secretive then?" Dean asked

"I wasn't being secretive, I just don't understand why it matters. So, _why_ are we going to Kentucky Mr. Secretive?" Addy found it irritating when people wouldn't answer her questions, it made her feel snarky. At least that is what Cody called her when she got like this.

"Don't change the subject. You answer my question and I'll answer yours."

"I _did_ answer your question." Addy pointed out "You never answered mine. You just don't want to tell me why we're going to Kentucky!"

"Does it really matter? We're going to be there in an hour anyway."

"Yeah, that's the thing that's concerning me. You do realize that for normal people this would be a fifteen hour ride, right?"

Dean smiled cockily before pulling into a rundown dinner "We're hunters, since when has that meant that we're normal?"

Addy nodded her head in agreement before putting the book in her backpack and following the men into the diner. "Why are we stopping?" she asked, sitting down next to Adam.

"Jeeze Kid" Dean said, looking slightly impressed. "What the heck are you made out of? You didn't eat at breakfast this morning and didn't make a beeline for the bathroom either time we stopped to get gas. We normal humans need food every once and a while."

Addy couldn't help but smile "I thought you just said hunters _weren't _normal humans."

The only she got was a face full of menu. "Shut up and pick something."

"I'm not-" she began

"If you say hungry I will personally shove this menu down your throat." Adam said, waving his menu around in the air.

"When's the last time you ate something?" Sam asked, and judging from the look on the three men's faces Addy could tell she probably wasn't getting out of this one. She didn't want to eat. It may sound childish, but with everything going on in her life at that moment the only thing she could control was when and what she ate. And right now, she didn't think she could hold down a whole meal anyway.

"A little while ago." Addy said, rubbing her hands together and not making eye contact with any of them.

"Really? Because we've been with you for almost two days and you haven't really had anything to eat."

"I'm not hungry." She insisted.

Dean scoffed slightly "When exactly was a little while ago?"

"What is this, an interrogation?" Addy asked getting annoyed.

"No, we're just concerned that you might be misjudging your stomach capacity; or your body's ability to function. People need to maintain their caloric input to maintain peak performance levels." Sam explained

"Misjudging my stomach capacity? Caloric input? What the heck does that even mean?"

Dean shrugged, just as confused at his brother's statement as Addy was. Adam glanced at Sam, rolled his eyes and added "Adds, when was the last time you ate?"

Slightly taken aback at Adam's use of her nickname and his sudden entrance to the conversation Addy answered without thinking. "Friday morning." It took her a second to realize comprehend what she had just said before opening her mouth and declaring "Crap."

Adam let out a small laugh at his cousin's reaction before gesturing for his brother's to continue their questioning. Addy just buried her head in her hands, slightly embarrassed she had been tricked that easily.

"You know what?" Dean said, shaking his head slightly. "We're not going to fight over this anymore."

"Dean, I-"

"I mean it Kid." He said giving Addy a serious look.

She just looked away, running her hand through her bangs as a waitress approached and took everyone's orders. Dean didn't even bother asking her what she wanted and twelve minutes later a large cheeseburger was placed in front of her. "Yum…" She said sarcastically, crinkling her nose at the greasy concoction on her plate.

"Yes it is." Dean responded, taking a large bite out of his burger.

"I'm a vegetari…" She began, starting to push her burger away but thinking better of it once she saw the look on the Winchester's faces "eat it and stop complaining."

"Good idea." Sam said.

"So, are you going to tell me why we're going there now?" Addy asked, taking a bite of her burger. She chewed and swallowed, quickly taking another bite when she suddenly realized just how hungry she was.

"Werewolves." Dean stated after looking around to make sure no one was within ear shot.

"Wolves, as in more than one?" Addy asked, finishing up her burger and starting on her fries.

Sam nodded "That's what we're assuming. Eight people have been found torn apart, missing their hearts in the past three months. That's a lot of ground to cover for a single werewolf."

"Not necessarily, I've seen a single wolf do more damage than that in less time." Addy said.

"Still, better safe than sorry. Go in expecting more then there actually are and you won't get pleasantly surprised if another one shows up." Dean stated, wiping his hands on a paper napkin.

"So I take it we're going in early to get a head start on tracking the thing."

"_We're_ not doing anything." Dean said, earning a skeptical look from Addy. "You and Adam are staying at the motel when Sam and me hunt the sons of bitches."

"Like hell I am!" Addy snapped, surprising Dean with the intensity behind her voice. "You can't just bench me from a hunt whenever you feel like it Dean."

"Oh really?" Dean asked, an angry smile crossing his face. Addy stared him down, nostrils flaring in rage. "Let me tell you something Kid-"

"What?" Addy asked voice low and short "What do you think you need to tell me?"

"You're sitting this one out Kid and that's final." His look told her it wasn't up for negotiation.

"Whatever." Addy hissed and Dean once again found himself irritated at the young girl's behavior. Her moods were mercurial; she'd go from normal to angry to giddy at the drop of a hat.

"Drop the attitude and suck it up Kid." Dean told her "Your moody teenage antics aren't going to make me cave."

Addy just gave him a blank stare before Sam cleared his throat to get her attention. "Yeah Sam?" She asked politely.

"I was just thinking," he shifted slightly causing Addy to frown "I mean, we're going to be there for a couple of weeks and you probably shouldn't fall behind in your school work…" he trailed off when he noticed the wide eyes on his cousin's face.

"You want me to go to school too?" She whispered as if it was the most horrific thing in the world. "Why?"

"Come on Addy," Adam piped in "You were just all gung-ho about taking on a werewolf and you're now afraid you can't deal with a new high school?"

"Supernatural crap I can deal with, it's people that I have issues with." Addy confessed, looking at her plate as she anxiously played with her hands.

Adam laughed slightly "I think you can handle a couple of high schoolers."

"If you have so much faith that they're harmless then _you_ go instead." Addy suggested.

"I have my diploma; I'm done with high school."

"Well excuse me old man." Addy said with a small smile, and Dean was pleased to notice that she had finished everything on her plate.

"Come on, let's hit the road." Dean said, slapping some money down on the table.

Of course the pleasant feeling Dean had had died an hour later when, no sooner had they pulled into a motel parking lot had Addy opened up the door to the Impala and emptied the contents of her stomach on the pavement below.

"Jesus Kid!" Dean yelled "You're supposed to keep the food in your stomach!"

"I am so sorry!" She said, wiping off her mouth "It's probably just the food. I… God, I'm so sorry!"

"You didn't hit the Impala did you?" Dean was relieved when she shook her head no "Good, if you had you'd be cleaning the crap off of the car till you turn 40."

"Don't worry Dean." Addy said with a laugh "I'd never dream of hurting this car, we share too many memories for that."

"I guess a burger wasn't the greatest idea. We'll just have to make sure you don't eat something quite as greasy next time." Sam assured her as Dean left to grab them a room. Places like this were never completely full.

Addy grabbed her backpack out of the backseat before grabbing a handful of bags from the trunk. "Holy crap, these things are heavy. What the heck do you have in them?" She asked, stopping Sam when he opened his mouth to answer "Don't actually answer that, I soooo don't want to know."

"You're hypocritical, you know that?" Adam told her, stumbling past her with her duffel bag "This thing weighs enough to have a dead body in it."

"Two actually." Addy said keeping a straight face long enough to make Adam concerned before breaking out into a grin. "Just kidding."

Dean returned with room key and everyone stalked into the room behind him. Addy threw the stack of random duffels on the bed closest to the door before taking her bag from Adam and throwing it, along with her backpack, on the couch. She grabbed her laptop out of her pack and curled up next to the bags, determined to do her own research. Two hours later, she had compiled all the articles connected to the victims' deaths, their autopsy reports, mortuary records, work and home addresses and a list of possible places where the victims might have interacted.

"Addy." Sam said and she looked up to meet her cousin's slightly concerned gaze.

"Yeah?" She asked, not really understanding why he was looking at her like that.

"I was trying to get your attention for a little while and it wasn't working."

"Sorry." She apologized "What do you want?"

"I was looking at the local high school," He began "and needed to know what grade you're in so we can get you registered."

"I have all my information in my bag if you need it."

"You carry around a copy of your transcripts with you?" Dean asked her, looking at her like she was the biggest geek in the world

"Yeah," She said in a voice that implied that it should be obvious "It's kind of important when you move pretty much every few months."

Dean let out an 'oh' before turning back to his gun cleaning. He got that; in twelve years of schooling he'd been through a crap load of schools. More in elementary school, fewer in high school. Their dad figured that when the boys reached high school and the work got harder they'd need a little stability.

"Anyway," Sam said "I'll take you down there tomorrow and register you for classes."

"I'd tell you that you need to be either my parent or legal guardian to do that… But for some reason I don't think that will, or ever has, stopped you."

"We'll figure out a way." He reassured an unconcerned Addy.

"Yippy." She said voice completely monotone.

"High School isn't that bad." Dean said, polishing the gun with a cloth.

"Why don't I hunt the werewolf and you go for me Dean?" Addy suggested, hoping it might actually work for him.

Nope.

"I think someone might notice I'm not a five foot teenager girl. Besides, I have my G.E.D; I don't need to go back to school." He pointed out, looking up to see Addy staring at him. "What?"

"You three are so alike it's scary sometimes." She said simply.

"Maybe you _should_ go to school if you think I'm anything like college boy over there." Dean said, pointing to Sam.

"I went to college too Dean." Adam pointed out and for some odd reason Addy didn't make any sarcastic come back. She just sat there, body tense and face expressionless.

"You ok Add-" Sam began

"Yeah I'm fine." She whispered, pulling her laptop closer and began typing away.

Dean shrugged at Sam, trying to cue to his younger brother that pressing the matter wasn't a good idea.

An hour later Sam told Addy to put the computer away and get ready for bed. For once she decided not to argue; instead she just changed into a pair of sweat pants and plopped down on the couch to go to sleep.

That night demons and death plagued Addy's dreams and she woke with a start, glancing at the clock to come to the realization that, even if it was only three, she wasn't getting anymore sleep. The Winchesters slept peacefully in the motel beds, Adam curled up next to Sam; and Dean spread out across his own bed. Instead of even bothering to try to get more sleep she grabbed her knife, shoving it in her sweatshirt pocket before putting on her sneakers and heading for the door. A run would do her some good, fresh air and time to think. Besides, if she was wearing Riley's necklace she'd be protected… Addy ran her fingers over the necklace, missing Riley all the more; she was used to talking to her all the time.

Addy accidentally dropped her sneaker in the dark and fumbled for it before finding it. A small groan made her turn around. "Addy what are you doing?" Adam asked in a groggy voice before sitting up slightly.

'_Oh crap. This is going to be a hard one to explain'_

"Go back to sleep Adam." Addy said in a low persuasive tone.

"Ok." The older boy said, laying back down and falling back to sleep. Addy quietly let herself out of the hotel room being careful to not let the locking chain jangle any more than necessary.

Addy grinned in satisfaction, more pleased at the fact that she had actually convinced him to go back to sleep then the idea of a run. Cody hadn't really loved her middle of the night runs; but, he understood insomnia. He dealt with bouts of it himself. He just asked that she leave a note on the table with the time she left and bring her cell phone with her. The note was so he could tell when he needed to start worrying; and the phone was so she could call him if she went too far. A few times she'd run so far that she'd been too exhausted to make it home. Cody had always come and gotten her; well until he'd dumped her at Lexington's. '_She'd left a note on the table by the motel room door right?_'

She started off at a slow jog, not wanting to wear herself out before she even got far. Addy relished the darkness, her ragged breathing and the streets that were only illuminated by the stars above. At the two mile mark she started running, legs moving faster and faster, carrying her by a school, a church and house after house. Two more miles and her legs carried her to a stop in front of a cemetery, eerily creepy and, at the same time, very comforting.

Not because she was some kind of necrophiliac. Not even close. Maybe it was because Addy had grown up around dead bodies, cemeteries, and the very typical salt and burn expeditions; they were the bread and butter of most hunters' careers. Maybe it was because she had been taught that even after death; people still have something to say. Either way, she didn't even think anything of it when she hopped the fence and entered the cemetery.

She walked a little ways, using the opportunity to allow herself to take a brief rest before she was going to head back to the motel room. A tall tree marked the center of the cemetery; she made her way over to it, resting a hand on the trunk as she looked around.

"Mommy lied to me." A small voice said. Addy whipped around, hand grabbing her knife just in case. "Please don't hurt me." The little boy told her.

Addy relaxed, putting her knife away before kneeling in front of the boy who was clearly a ghost. "I won't hurt you Honey."

"That's what Mommy said about Daddy. She said he wouldn't hurt me either." He looked at her pleadingly.

"Well, I pinky promise. Do you know what that means?" She asked, sticking out her finger for the little boy to take.

He nodded, taking her finger and smiling "It means you can't _ever_ break it!"

Addy smiled before clearing her throat. "Can you tell me your name Sweety?"

"Alan, Alan Davis. I'm four years old." He said, sticking up three fingers instead.

"Wow, four years old. That practically makes you an adult!" The little boy nodded and Addy felt a pain in her heart for what she knew she had to do next. "Can you tell me what your Daddy did to you Alan?"

"Daddy hurt me. Mommy said he wouldn't, but he did anyway."

"How'd your Daddy hurt you?"

"He told me I wasn't good for nothing' and then he hit me again and again. I asked him to stop, but he didn't!" His anger caused the tree over head to sway dangerously.

"Alan, it's going to be ok." Addy reassured him. "I promise he won't get away with hurting you. What happened after he hit you?"

"I falled down and I hit my head. Then I woked up and I was here. I tried to go home, but I can't! Why can't I go home? I want my mommy."

_'He doesn't even know he's dead'_ It was times like this that Addy hated being a hunter.

"Alan," she said, touching the dead boy in comfort "What would you say if I told you that you could go to a place where you're always happy and nothing ever hurts you, would you like that?"

The boy nodded enthusiastically "Daddy couldn't hurt me no more?"

"Your daddy will never hurt you again." Addy assured him. "Did anyone ever find out about your daddy hurting you, other than your mommy?"

He shook his head, and Addy knew she was going to have to find evidence pointing to the fact that the dad had killed his own son. Not so much fun.

"When can I go?" Alan asked.

"Soon, very soon. I just need to do something first. But as soon as that's done I promise you can go." _'To Heaven'_ she added to herself. "I need to go now."

"But, but, it's scary here!" The boy protested.

"I know; but, I need you to brave."

"What if something scary comes for me?" He asked, the tree swaying dangerously over head.

"My name is Adeline. Can you say that?" Addy asked the little boy. She _hated_ using her full name, but in situations like this it was unavoidable.

"Adelanie." The boy said with a small smile of satisfaction.

_'Oh what the heck, that's close enough. She could tell that he so wanted to have said her name right._

"Alright, now if you get to scared or something bothers you, all you need to do is say my name out loud. That's it, just my name, and no matter where I am, I'll hear you."

"Really?" The boy said, his voice wide in amazement

"Really." She assured him. "Now I'm going to go now. But remember what I told you, ok?"

She waited till the ghost nodded before she turned around and left the cemetery. She wasn't in the mood to just run or jog, she needed to sprint. She _hated_ seeing child spirits, their innocence, the fact that they still had so much to live for, but their lives had been stripped away from them before they really had a chance to live.

It was times like this that Addy doubted the existence of a God.

The powers Addy and her brother had been given allowed them to more easily help those plagued by the supernatural. Her brother's powers were more useful by a long shot, the whole 'I can usually tell what you're feeling/I can see the future' thing. Addy, well, for some _very_ unknown reason she had a strange connection to those who were either dead or dying. She could see ghosts even when they were invisible to others and she could even touch them. But that was pretty much it. Nothing overly special, nothing really important, and nothing, _nothing_ that actually helped when you were hunting. Her brother had always laughed about that, saying that gifts were supposed to be more help than a hindrance. Addy did her best to help people with what she had been given; but sometimes it wasn't as easy as it sounded. Especially if she was dealing with children, she hated being helpless.

The motel came into view much faster than she would have liked. It had been about four miles from the cemetery, but it hadn't felt like it. She wanted to run, run until her legs gave out and her body sagged to the ground. But she couldn't.

For one thing, if any of the Winchesters woke up and she wasn't there, she was pretty sure Dean would kill her. And, she had a promise to keep. She'd make sure that the truth behind Alan's death was discovered, even if it killed her. No pun intended. The kid deserved a chance at a happy after life, something his unresolved death wasn't allowing him.

She stopped in front of the motel; the cool morning's breeze touched her skin in a way that made it prickle.

Addy wasn't sure what made her turn around, maybe it was the feeling in her chest, one like someone was sitting on her. Either way, she whipped around, bringing out her knife fast enough to scratch the brunette standing before her.

"What the hell was that for?" The women asked, not just a women, but a demon. She could tell there was something wrong with her face, something inhuman about it.

"Why were you sneaking up on me?" Addy answered her question with a question.

"God you really are related to the Winchesters." The women answered.

Addy visibly stiffened, griping her knife in the preparation of an attack. "Relax; I'm not going to hurt you."

"Last time a demon said that to me he cut me up, and left me to die." Addy spat dramatically

"Yeah well, I'm not like other demons." She said, smiling slightly.

"Ruby?" Sam's startled voice called from the motel room door. He walked over to the girls, assessing the situation. "What are you doing here?"

"Just came to see if the rumors were true."

"What rumors?" Sam asked

"That you had picked up an extra piece of luggage." Addy used the time Ruby was distracted by Sam to lunge at the unsuspecting girl. She didn't _care_ if Sam was talking to her in a civilized manor, Ruby was a demon. Demons were evil, simple as that. Black and white.

A strong arm caught Addy around the waist right as she was about to lunge. She struggled against the hold, kicking out and causing everyone's attention to be diverted to her. "Let me go!" She yelled "Lemme go!"

"Calm down Kid." Dean tried to assure her.

"Let me go and I'll calm down."

"Will you try and attack Ruby again?" Dean asked.

"The bitch is a demon, Dean! A fucking _demon_!" Addy screamed.

"Language!" He snapped, smacking the back of her head. "I'm not letting go until you promise me you're not going to try anything."

Addy continued to struggle, but Dean was relentless. "I'm touched Dean." Ruby said "But you can put her down, I doubt she would have caused any damage to me anyway."

"It's not you I'm worried about." He assured her, still not letting the squirming Addy down.

"Let me down you asshole!" Addy screamed.

Dean shifted her onto his waist, slapping her harder on the back of the head. "I said language!" He growled. "Wrap up your little BFF meeting Sam; I'm sick of you sneaking off in the middle of the night to see the demon bitch."

"You're a Goddamn hypocrite." Addy snapped, earning her another head slap.

"I didn't meet Ruby, Dean… She was already here talking to Addy when I got outside."

It was at this point, that Addy knew she was in trouble. She started struggling even more, trying to get out of Dean's iron tight hold. "Stop it." He warned Addy before turning to Sam "What do you mean she was already out her talking to Addy?"

"He means exactly that Dean." Ruby snapped.

"What the hell were you doing outside, by yourself, at four in the morning?" He demanded from Addy, putting her back on the ground so that he could look at her better. "Look at me. Now, kid."

She didn't want to, but Dean wouldn't have any of it. He grabbed her chin and forced her head up, making her look at him. "I was just getting some fresh air." She whispered.

"At four am?" Addy knew he didn't buy it. "Let's try this again, but without the lying thing. What were you doing outside, by yourself, at four in the morning?"

"I went for a run." She whispered in an even lower tone.

"A run? Who goes running at four?" Sam asked.

"I do." Addy snapped "I've done it for as long as I can remember."

"Well, you're not doing it anymore." Dean told her

"Why not?" Addy demanded.

"Do you want the logical 'it's stupid because anything could happen' or the 'you have Lilith gunning for your ass' spiel?"

"I'm going to go with the 'I'm old enough to take care of myself' one."

"You're fifteen!" Dean yelled

"Since when has age had _anything_ to do with how capable a person is?" Addy demanded.

"I said no Kid." Dean said, ending the argument.

Addy wanted to punch something. Instead, she held her emotions in, refusing to allow Dean any indication as to how angry she truly was.

"Well, as always your family drama has been fun to watch; but, I think I'm gonna hit the road." Ruby said, pointing her thumb behind herself.

"Good to see you Ruby." Sam said with a nodded before the brunette disappeared into the night. "Let's go back inside, it's cold out here."

Dean grabbed Addy's arm, pointedly pulling her into the room with a stern look on his face. "Dean I'm-"

"What? Sorry?" He yelled at Addy, who suddenly felt like she was two inches tall. "Do you know what it was like waking up and realizing you weren't here?"

"But… Cody always let me go as long as I left a note." Addy felt terrible; she hadn't meant to worry him. She looked over at the table; hadn't she left a note? She always left a note. There was no piece of paper there. Of course not, she'd talked to Adam before she left. Addy shook her head no, having no idea what to say. That she was sorry she was acting like a brat? That she was sorry she had been raised to take care of herself? That she wasn't used to having someone watching her back even when they weren't actually around? "I'm sorry." She whispered again "I thought I left a note." Seeing the look of anger on Dean's face mixed with confusion, she explained further "Cody always let me go; he just said I had to leave a note saying when I left and take my phone."

Dean shook his head but he didn't say anything. It was pretty clear he didn't want to deal with this issue now.

It was weird, it was strange, and it was something Addy hadn't felt since the time she was three, a time when it was just her dad, Cody, Canley and her. She was part of a family again. A family where everyone cared about each other and, even if they may not overtly show it, loved each other.

Not that her brother and father didn't love her. Her father had loved her very dearly during his life, but after Canley had left their family for a 'normal' life, he had always been so caught up in the fact that he may lose another daughter it seemed like he was afraid to form a strong bond with Addy.

Growing up Cody had always been there for Addy, he had always told her that he loved her and that no matter what happened he'd always be there for her. He hadn't though; after he left her at school he had never once contacted her to make sure she was alright. Even after she was hospitalized for over a month due to a hunt gone bad, he hadn't called the hospital even after they had left numerous messages. That proved he didn't care anymore, didn't it?

And here Dean was, an older brother of two and he was stuck with a grumpy, ungrateful teenager. For some strange, unexplainable reason he actually cared about her even if they had only known each other for a grand total of two days. He cared, he wanted to keep her safe, and Addy was shoving it back into his face.

"I'm really sorry Dean." She whispered.

"It's ok Kid." Dean said, pulling her into a one armed hug. "I'm going back to sleep, don't stay up too long."

Addy nodded and sat back down on the couch, pulling her laptop close to her. Sleep wasn't an option right now; she had a ghost to help and a promise to keep.


	7. Waiting and Wondering

**Alright! Here's the next chapter. I would like to once again thank Hicks07 for editing this chapter for me. Also, I added link to a picture of what I thought Addy would like on my profile...So, anyway, please review and I hope you guys enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer:NOPE I _still_ don't own supernatural**

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The main offices of schools always suck. They all seem to look alike; sterile and artificially cheerful and they all smell of fear. Whenever you're in them you always feel like you're about to get the dishing out of a life time, even if you've done nothing wrong. At least this was the way Addy felt. She had been in her fair share of principal offices during her career as a student for various things: school registration, fights, academic acknowledgements both good and bad and once for accidentally blowing up a school's septic system…

It didn't matter what school it was, each office had the same feeling. Addy hated it. The aura of discipline… The way the teachers held themselves… It made Addy want to misbehave just to piss someone off. But she couldn't, Sam had eyes like a frigging hawk. They had been sitting in the office for a good two hours already and Addy was reaching her breaking point. She wanted to jump and scream, to break the incredible silence that the room held. But no, she had to sit here and behave… Or so Sam had told her every time she moved half a flippin' inch.

To make matters worse her stomach was protesting the light breakfast Dean had made her eat this morning. She felt nauseous but was doing her best to conceal it; Sam had already warned her that if she wasn't able to keep down a solid meal by that evening he was taking her to the hospital to get checked out. Addy hated hospitals, as far as she was concerned that wasn't even an option.

"Sam." Addy whispered just loud enough for the older man who sat next to her to hear.

"Yeah?" He asked his voice just as quiet.

"Why do I have to do this again?"

Sam just rolled his eyes "We went over this, this morning Addy. We're going to be here for three weeks, I don't think it's a good idea for you to fall behind in school."

"Well, can't I just get my G.E.D? That would solve that issue."

"No." He held up his hand, cutting off Addy before she got the chance to speak "For one thing a G.E.D limits your future. Even if you don't want to go to college today, you might want to in the future and a G.E.D will limit your chances of getting into a good college. And lastly, I'm not your brother; I wouldn't feel right giving you the ok on that one."

"You sound just like him you know. You both think that I'm going to wake up one day and decide that college is the place for me. People only go to college if they want a normal life. I don't. And I won't ever want one."

Sam shook his head "You never know Addy. By the time you graduate you might actually want to continue your education."

Addy shook her head and scoffed slightly. "That's never going to happen."

Before Sam got the chance to ask her what she had against post-secondary education the door to the principal office opened and a large middle age women in a flowered polyester dress called out "Addy Noel."

"That's us." Sam said raising his hand slightly and ushering his cousin into the room.

Old-Flower Lady ushered them into the office and closed the door after them. Addy thought she looked like every administrative assistant at every school. They took their seats in a generic plastic chair that faced the principal. A younger lady; Mrs. Parker, the plastic nameplate read.

"Well, Miss Noel," the women said shifting through the transcripts Addy had given her to look over two hours ago. "I must say you have quite interesting transcripts."

"Uhhh… Thanks?" Addy said, not sure if that was a good or bad thing.

The women ignored her comment "I've already had a schedule made up based on the classes already on file. But, there are some things we must discuss before you get to class. We have a 0 tolerance for fighting, and according to your file you have a tendency to get aggressive in certain situations. I see this is your first public school for a while, I hope that doesn't deter you from trying your hardest… We do not tolerate skipping classes. Latin has been put into your schedule, I expect someone with your reputation and grade point average to perform just as adequately in that class as your others." She looked Addy up and down, as if surprised that someone that small could cause that much trouble. Addy shifted uncomfortably at the principal's last comment and Sam quickly looked at her before turning his attention to the principal.

"Mrs. Parker, what exactly does that mean?" Sam asked, trying his best to play his part as a supposedly older brother.

"Well, according to her file she has yet to receive any passing marks in Latin. Actually, to be completely honest, she has no marks what so ever."

Sam's face became hard "I see." He said in such a calm voice Addy was surprised. "Well, I can assure you that will no longer be an issue. Right Addy?" He asked, glancing at her with a not so pleasant smile on his face.

"Right." She managed to choke out, twisting a strand of her hair around a finger.

"Alright, now that all that's settled here's your schedule. Have a good day Miss Noel."

Addy nodded and followed Sam out of the office, gripping the paper hard. "Oh joy. English Honors, Trig Honors, European History Honors and Latin three Honors. Are they trying to kill me?" Addy asked waving her schedule slightly.

"Nah, I think you can handle it." Sam assured her.

"Well that makes one of us." Addy murmured, readjusting her backpack's straps and walking into the hall. "Seriously, are you sure I need to do this? Because I'm all for just not going to school and heading back to the motel to help Adam with the research."

"I'm sure." Sam said, looking at his cousin. Honestly, he didn't want to leave her alone. They hadn't been together long but they had already formed a bond stronger than anyone could imagine. "Be out in front of the school at three someon-"

"Will be there to pick me up." Addy said interrupting him with a small smile "I know, Dean and I got into an argument over that. I wanted to walk but noooo. Apparently he's all for no exercise and childhood obesity."

Sam laughed at his cousin's sarcastic comment as she started to walk down the hall. "Alright, be safe, do your work, make friends, and eat your lunch!" He yelled after her.

"Bye Sam!" Addy yelled back, a warm feeling sprouting in her chest. She walked down the hall glancing at the paper in her hand in an attempt to find her classroom.

"Here goes nothing." She muttered to herself as she twisted the doorknob and entered the room.

"And that class is why Hamlet is a tragedy - Oh, you must be our new student." The teacher said, gesturing for Addy to enter the class room. "Class," he said "this is Adeline. Everyone say hello."

"It's Addy." Addy interjected not wanting to spend the next three weeks called Adeline.

A collective choirs of 'hi's rang out and all Addy wanted to do was turn invisible. She hated attention. "Is there anything you'd like to tell the class about yourself?"

"Not really." Addy whispered, playing around with her ponytail and looking at her shoes.

"Alright." He said "Take a seat. Could someone get her a copy of Hamlet please?"

Addy made her way to the back of the classroom to the only vacant desk. A very worn out copy of the play was placed on the desk as she sat down. "Thanks." She muttered.

"I'm Kyle, by the way. And no problem."

Addy looked over at him; she wasn't interested in reading the play for what must have been the fifth time considering each school would seem to start teaching it as soon as Addy decided to join its class rankings. "Hi."

"Alright, who can tell me what Yorick's Skull symbolizes?" The teacher asked, and Addy knew it was going to be a long day.

**O~O~O~O~O~O**

It was finally here. Lunch. Addy had survived English, Trig and half of History before the bell rang for lunch rang. She loved block scheduling, out of all the different types of class schedules she'd had in the four high schools she'd been in this was her favorite. Block scheduling meant she only had to deal with four classes a semester, even if they were an hour and half each. She was relived, she was thankful and she was most definitely not going back to class. Not because she wanted to skip, but because she had something she had to do. The only reason she'd actually gone into the school today was because Sam had insisted upon walking in with her. A blip in her plan, but she could deal.

Not able to shake the feeling that God had decided her high school career in Latin was just never going to happen, Addy fought against the flow of hallway traffic in an attempt to make it to the bathroom. She discarded most of her lunch in a trashcan, and stuffed the apple in her backpack; knowing that she hadn't been able to keep down breakfast and that lunch was going to be the exact same way. She wasn't anorexic, or bulimic for that matter, but for some reason beyond her comprehension her body was rejecting food and it was starting to take a toll on her. If she moved too fast she'd become light headed and the headaches she kept getting were becoming really frigging annoying.

Whatever, she'd deal; she'd been through worse. Instead of thinking about it she walked over the window, pushed it open and stuck a leg out. The bathroom was on the second story, not too hard to deal with. She positioned herself on the ledge, dangling slightly before letting go of the window sill and falling to the ground below. After landing on her feet, Addy waited no time in leaving school property.

Last night she had looked up as much information as she could about the child, Alan Davis, it hadn't been a lot. He had died sixths months ago in what the police believed to have been an accident; a fall down some stairs. Addy knew better, she also knew where to start. The public library, the local newspaper would have the counties arrest records. Addy really hoped that this bumsquat piece of America had moved beyond the Stone Age and had it all archived electronically.

She walked the mile to the library, stopping occasionally to ask for directions. It was half past noon by the time she made it there and she kept a mental note in the back of her mind that she needed to be back at the school before three. It wouldn't be a good idea to keep Dean, or whoever, waiting. Addy ascended the steps into the library, but not before checking the parking lot to make sure there weren't any Chevy Impala's there.

It took her all of five minutes to convince the elderly librarian that she needed the records for a junior college research project. Addy shifted through the box of papers, jotting down notes and making photocopies whenever necessary. Alan's father had been suspected of abusing his son, unfortunately without the wife's cooperation they hadn't been able to pin anything on him. Addy wrote down their home address before shoving the materials back into its box and turned around, running smack into Ruby. Gripping the table for support, Addy glared at the older women. She hadn't even noticed the Demon Bitch was there. Dean had given her a good name; had a nice ring to it, Demon Bitch.

"Aren't you supposed to be in school?" Ruby asked.

"Aren't you supposed to be in Hell?" Addy snapped back grabbing her backpack off the floor as she prepared to leave.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Ruby warned. "Leaving right now probably isn't the best idea."

"And why would that be?" Addy asked, not really interested in whatever Demon Bitch had to say. If they weren't in public she would have stabbed Ruby right where she stood.

"Because the Winchesters came in during your intense research and note taking seminar."

"Right." Addy put her hands on her hips, playing that part of an annoyed teenager. "And why would you tell me that?"

"Because unlike the Winchesters and your brother, I know you have a bigger role to play in this war that doesn't involve you sitting on the bench."

Addy rolled her eyes "Really? You know that do you? Let me tell you-wait, what do you know about my brother?" She really didn't like the Demon Bitch talking about her family.

"More than you. That's for sure." Ruby smiled smugly and Addy felt her nostrils flare.

"Wanna fill me in?"

"Nah, I think you suffering like this is pretty funny. For me anyway. Besides, where would we be in this world if people always gave stuff away and you didn't need to work for anything?"

"You're soooo benevolent." Addy snapped taking her leave again. She really needed to leave or else she was going to snap whether or not she was in a public place.

"You know, it's kind of strange..." Ruby said her voice trailing off at the end.

"What's strange? That you don't seem to get that I'm not interested in talking to you?" Addy asked, turning around and rolling her eyes.

Ruby took a deep breath "Noooo." She said letting the sigh out. "That when I mention your brother you're suddenly all interested. But when I even imply that there might be something even slightly special about you, you don't care, not even a little bit."

"That's because I'm not special." Addy defended, crossing her arm across her chest.

"Oh, in that case let me go tell that to the army of demons after you. You can't fool me Kid."

"Don't call me Kid." Addy warned.

"What are you going to do about it? Are you going to-" Addy stalked forward, punching Ruby as hard as she could in the nose and stomping on Ruby's foot at the same time. The brunette toppled backwards over a table and hit the floor with a loud thud.

"Ow, that actually hurt." Ruby complained getting to her feet and wiping her bloodied nose. A small group of people had started to accumulate around them. Addy was worried that Ruby wasn't lying and that the Winchesters would show up at any second.

"I know it hurt. I _meant_ it to hurt you, you ignorant little-"Addy started.

"Addy?" Sam's surprised voice rang through the murmur of voices.

"Awwww… Crap." She muttered to herself and she couldn't shake the feeling that they had probably seen the whole thing. Turning around she came face to face with a Sam and Dean who looked too shocked to do anything. Addy took advantage of their brief shock to snatch up her bag and shove past the group of people that had surrounded the two girls. She threw a side door open and made it halfway across the library parking lot before the Winchesters caught up with her. A large hand grabbed her arm and whipped her around.

"What the hell was that for?" Dean demanded at the same time as Sam yelled "Why aren't you at school?"

The Winchester brothers exchanged looks, each one confused at the other's choice of priorities before turning their attention back to Addy. "Well?" Dean asked.

"It's just, I was, I…I…I've got nothing." Addy admitted, shrugging in defeat.

"You've got nothing?" Sam asked taking his turn to be angry. "So you just felt like skipping school and punching Ruby?"

Addy blinked once before meeting Sam's gaze and hissing in a harsh voice "Don't you dare make presumptions regarding me Sam Winchester. You don't know anything about me."

Sam's shock at his cousin caused him to actually take a step back.

"Sam's older than you." Dean said in a dangerously low voice "He's more experienced than you. And you will treat him with respect." Each word was very carefully punctuated.

"Or what Dean?" Addy asked and as soon as she said it she knew she made a mistake. Dean's face flashed fury before instantly becoming calm. He grabbed Addy's arm tighter and started frog marching her toward the Impala. They got halfway there before Addy felt a familiar stabbing sensation in her abdomen. A sensation she only felt whenever someone needed her help.

'Adelanie!' Alan's frantic voice whispered in the wind. Sam and Dean couldn't hear it but she could. That was all that mattered. He needed her help, and she had promised she'd give it to him when he needed it. She couldn't let him stay in the graveyard, afraid, alone and scared.

"Dean, you need to let me go." Addy said, fighting slightly against his hold. He didn't say anything, instead he just pulled her along faster. "Dean, I mean it." He still didn't say anything, she figured she might as well try one more time. "Please Dean, I'm sorry. Just please, let me go."

"Adeline, you've passed your quotas of 'I'm sorry' for the next year. Now shut up and stop struggling." Dean didn't even look at her, they were almost at the Impala and Addy knew that if she got into the car she wasn't going to be able to help anyone.

She felt like a three year old for even considering what she had to do next, but it didn't stop her from opening her mouth and screaming "Help!"at the top of her lungs. She continued screaming even after Dean had pulled her close, slapping a hand to her mouth to stifle the noise.

That's exactly what Addy had wanted him to do. She waited until Dean's hand made it over her mouth before biting down as hard as she could. Dean barely had the chance to let out a yell before Addy kicked him in the shins. He let go in surprise and Addy wasted no time in sprinting as fast as she could from the parking lot, hoping that. It would take Dean a few seconds to recover, by which point she'd be long gone. Addy hadn't even seen Adam, maybe he was still at the motel. That just left Sam; and, even if he was taller then her, there was no way he was as fast as her. Or so Addy hoped.

Addy ran down the street, running through various buildings and yards in an effort to elude Sam who was undoubtedly pursuing her. She ran for ten minutes straight before pausing long enough to look around. No one was following her, no one was even nearby.

"You're such a freaking idiot!" She yelled at herself smacking the brick wall she leaned against to catch her breath. "They just wanted to help you and you act like an ungrateful three year old." She screamed and grabbed her hair, letting her body slide to the ground. "No wonder your brother hates you."

At that moment, Addy wanted nothing more than to cry. But she couldn't, no, wouldn't let herself. Tears were a weakness, an over-display of emotion that would only distract you. Distractions were fatal; they were something Addy would never allow herself to have again. She hated crying, she hated tears, she hated what _emotion _ did to a person; how it affected them… But most importantly, she hated what it made you do. So she held everything in, refusing to allow herself the luxury of tears. Because crying was a weakness… Crying was useless. Addy pushed her feelings to the back of her mind, trying to never give them a second thought. Of course when everything finally exploded there'd be an issue, but right now she didn't care. Right now she wanted to feel nothing. The sharp pain stabbed into her stomach once again and Addy picked herself up and brushed off. "Your pity party's over." She told herself "You've got work to do."

She walked out of the side street and began running towards the graveyard, increasing her pace when another pain hit her stomach. It took her five minutes to complete her trip, she wasted no time hopping the fence and running to the tree she had been to the night before.

"Alan?" She yelled as she looked around. "Alan?"

Still no answer. Another pain hit her stomach so intensely she clutched it in pain.

'Adelanie!' the young boy yelled, more desperate this time 'They won't leave me alone!'

"They? Who's they?" She asked herself before yelling "Where are you?" more with her heart then out loud. A picture formed in her mind, she saw a patch of graves and even herself standing in the background. A warm feeling engulfed her chest and she knew where she had to go. "Thank you." She whispered to no one in particular as she took off in the direction the ghost child was in.

"Hey!" She yelled as she came up on the grave, instantly realizing what the issue was. In front of Alan's grave stood three very drunk teenage boys; Shorty, Ugly, and Pimple Face. Judging by the number of bottles by the head stone, they had been there for a while.

'Who the heck gets drunk at three in the afternoon?' she asked herself, sighing in relief when she noticed Alan's small figure hunched behind the grave stone, attempting to become invisible, even though he already ways…To the boys anyway. "What the hell are you doing?" Addy demanded.

"Look, it's a girl!" Shorty said, hiccupping slightly. "Whats cha doin' here little lady?"

'Did he really just say little lady? God; do people actually say that? This really is frigging Middleoffriggingnowwhere America.'

"I think I asked you first." Addy pointed out, with strength and intensity behind her voice.

"Oooo… Someone's a tough guy." Ugly said, swaying his hands for emphasis. "I'm shaking in my shoes."

"We came to see the ghostie!" Pimple Face added.

"Of course you did." Addy said to herself more than the guys "Any luck?"

"Nope." Shorty said, popping the p as he spoke.

"Well good, you three need to leave now."

"You can't tell us what to do!" The guy Ugly slurred at her, pointing a finger at her.

Addy sighed, knowing that this probably wasn't going to go down well. "Look," she said as she ran a hand through her bangs. "if you guys leave now and just promise me you're not going to come back we won't have an issue."

She wasn't going to tell them that once a person made a promise to her, she could hold them to it for as long as she wanted. In other words, if the boys promised they'd leave the cemetery and never come back, they literally couldn't come back unless Addy gave them permission. It was an ability she had inherited from her father's side but hadn't discovered she possessed until several months ago.

Growing up she had only seen her father use it once right before he died, he had made her brother Cody promise he would always do what he thought was best for Addy's well being. Neither of her siblings had inherited this particular power, even though they each had their own unique abilities that had been presented to them do to the strange genetics the Noel line had.

Throughout her childhood her father had always made sure that his children understood how serious this particular ability was. He had explained that taking away someone's free will wasn't something to be taken lightly and that with that great power came an even greater responsibility. Addy had already known that, she of all people knew what it was like having limitations on your own free will.

"I don't think so." Ugly said. "You can't make us do anything, so there!" Flipping her off.

"Did you even see the ghost?" Addy asked, refusing to acknowledge the boy's finger.

"Nooooo, that's why we're still here." Pimple Face addded.

"Ever consider he just might not want to show himself to someone as ugly as you?" She couldn't help but grin as she said it.

"You bitch!" The second guy said, lashing out his fist in a poor effort to hit Addy. She ducked under the punch, easily tripping the boy as he stumbled forward.

"That's our friend!" Ugly or Shorty yelled they looked about alike, lunging at her. Jumping slightly, she brought up her leg, kicking the boy hard in the face. He fell backwards as the other one grabbed Addy's arm. She easily twisted out of the grip, grabbing the boy's own arm and, using it to pull him closer; she jutted out her elbow and jammed it into his stomach. She used his hunched forward body and, taking advantage of the situation, flipped him easily onto the ground.

"Are you going to leave now and not come back?" She asked the three boys who had yet to get up, they lay on the ground groining in intoxication and apparent in ability to deal with pain. "I said," she repeated herself louder this time "are you going to leave now and not come back?"

The only response she got were slight moans of "Yes." But that's all she needed.

"Good, now leave." She snapped, turning around to look at Alan. He ran over and hugged her legs tightly and, not caring if the incapacitated boys thought she was insane, she bent down and returned the gesture.

"Are you alright?" She asked the ghost knowing full well that nothing, well except maybe her, could actually physically hurt him. That didn't matter though, even in death he was still a child, he could still become upset over scary situations like anyone else his age.

"I is all better now." He said sucking his thumb. "You mean people can leave now."

Addy turned around to see three very shocked teenagers staring at the little boy hiding behind her legs. They could see him. "Alan, you need to make it so they can't see you anymore!" Addy yelled more aggressively than she intended. The little boy became scared, running behind his tombstone and began to stare at Addy wide eyes.

"Holy shit! It's a ghost! An actual ghost!" Pimple Face yelled, pointing at Alan before him and his two friends took off running.

"I'm a ghost?" Alan asked Addy.

"I'll come back and explain everything to you in a second Honey, but right now I have to do something!" She calmly told Alan before taking off after the guys. She wasn't exactly sure what she was planning on doing once she caught up to them, she'd probably just con them into promising not to tell anyone.

"Hey!" She yelled after the boys, catching up to them right as they left the cemetery. She grabbed one of the boy's arms, forcing him to stop as his two friends took off leaving him there.

"Let go of me! You were talking to that, that thing!" He stammered.

"You can't tell anyone about him! He just wants to be left alone!" Addy begged.

"You're crazy!" Wide-eyed he pulled out of Addy's grip and staggered backward off the sidewalk. "You're a frigging psycho!"

The boy didn't see the car coming but Addy did. She also knew that it wouldn't have time to stop. "Look out!" She screamed, grabbing the boys arm and pulling him out of the street. He fell backward into safety, hitting Addy on his way down. The sudden unexpected blow knock an unsuspecting Addy forwards onto road. She saw the car coming and knew what was going to happen before it did. She shut her eyes tight and her muscles tensed; she heard the screeching of tires a second before the colossal weight of the car slammed into her body.

"Addy!"She heard a voice scream as her body was flung up over the car and as she crashed into the pavement below. Pain consumed her body and black specks clouded her vision as she heard the shuffle of footsteps.

"Kid!" Another voice yelled "Kid! Answer me!"

Her voice wouldn't work, she couldn't speak, couldn't respond. She felt a soft gentle hand brush against her skin before a husky voice whispered in her ear, "Don't worry child, the Lord shall protect you."

Addy saw a flash of white light and heard the rustling of wings before everything went black.


	8. Beyond the Imperfections

**Disclaimer: Yeah, I know... I don't own Supernatural and it kinda sucks**

* * *

_Addy desperately fought against the ropes that tied her hands behind the simple wooden chair. She let out a scream but knew it was useless, the factory was completely abandoned. Other than the homeless and taggers no one had been in it for years. _

_"Now, now." Alistair consoled a struggling Addy "Let's not have any of that." He walked over, slapping Addy across the face. She bit her lip so hard a trickle of blood escaped, she would _not_ scream, she would _not _give him the satisfaction._

_"What do you want?" She asked for the hundredth time. Her body was soaked with blood and sweat. She was covered in bruises and so thirsty it was hard to deal with. For what seemed like days, she had been tied to this stupid chair, forced to face endless torture for reasons beyond her comprehension. _

_Alistair's mouth turned into an evil smile "What fun would it be if I told you?" He asked Addy, taking out _her_ prized knife and using it to slice another cut onto her stomach. _

_"When I get out of this chair, I'm going to take that knife and kill you." She hissed, spitting on the demon as he leaned in closer to her._

_He chuckled and wiped at his cheek, using his other hand to ruffled Addy's already messy hair. "You're not going anywhere until I tell you so. You know, it's kind of poetic. Me, using your knife to slice you up. One of the few knives in the world that can actually hurt a demon. Like the Colt, only in knife form." Alistair used the silver dagger to trace a crimson line across her stomach._

_Addy held back a scream as she opened her mouth and declared "The Colt is a fuckin' bed time story you dumbass."_

_"Now," Alistair said with a sigh. "What would your Uncle Johnny boy say if he heard you said that?"_

_ "Don't you _dare_ talk about my family!" Addy screamed._

_"What's the matter?" Alistair asked, pulling away the knife long enough to give Addy an unconcerned gaze. "Afraid I'll insult Mommy and Daddy dearest? You did practically kill them after all. Or maybe I'll mention little ol' Canley. She did leave you after all; she left you and never looked back because she knew how better off she'd be. Or maybe you're afraid I'll mention Cody and how he knows how much of a coward you really are."_

_"Don't talk about my family!" Addy screamed, struggling enough to free a hand. She grabbed the demon, digging her nails into his flesh. She fought against his hand, knowing that if she just got the knife she'd be safe. _

_It didn't work. One hand wasn't enough to fight off a demon with. Alistair slapped her hard, so hard that dark specks clouded her vision._

_She wouldn't lose consciousness, she wouldn't let herself. She fought against the dark as Alistair forced her hand behind her back and tied it once again to the chair. "Let's not have any of that!" He took her knife, sliding it down her stomach in a swift motion._

_This time Addy couldn't contain the scream, it escaped her lips and he just smiled at her reaction. _

_"You're psychotic." Addy fumed "Insane. Why are you doing this? I haven't done anything!"_

_"Yet. You haven't done anything yet." Alistair corrected._

_"That doesn't make any sense. Please!" She begged, breath coming out in ragged gasps "Just let me go. Or kill me. I don't care anymore."_

_"Oh Addy." He said, patting her cheek softly. "I'm not going to kill you. No, no, no, no. I would never kill you; my boss has taken an unhealthy interest in you. Still, I can't guarantee that everyone one else will treat you as nicely as I have." _

_Addy let out a laugh that broke out into a groan of pain as Alistair carved away at her stomach again. "If you keep this up I'm going to bleed out." Addy warned. _

_"Don't worry." He comforted her "You've been holding up adequately thus far. A little while longer won't hurt you." He grinned evilly and Addy just screamed. _

_She felt so stupid. She had been on a hunt with Riley and Jase, a simple, simple hunt when they had been ambushed by demons. Jase was an old hunting friend Addy had grown up with, he had been in the business for longer than she had but only by default, he was two years older than her. But he knew how to handle himself and without him, Riley and she would have been in serious trouble. Demons, Addy hadn't seen demons in months and suddenly they showed up in full force. Jase and Riley had managed to exorcise one each; Addy had successfully killed two with her knife before a sudden blow had knocked her unconscious. _

_She had awoken later tied to a chair in the warehouse where Alistair had introduced himself before beginning his task. _

_"Even if you don't have to worry about me, I'd be surprised if you lived to see the end of the world, no matter how soon it may be." He stroked her hair sympathetically and a loud crash sounded, breaking his concentration. "Stay here." He told her before putting down the knife on a table and walking away to examine the sudden noise. _

_"Like I can go anywhere!" She screamed at the retreating form. A tearless sob sounded in her chest and a hand covered her mouth. _

_"Don't scream." Jase warned her as he cut away her ropes. _

_"How'd you find me?" She whispered as Jase pulled away his hand. _

_"I followed the trail." He explained and Addy had no idea what it meant. She didn't care; she just wanted to get out of there. Her vision was beginning to fade to black; she was going to pass out. _

_"Jase, my knife." She told the boy as he picked her up in his arms. Like a groom carrying his bride across the threshold._

_"I got it Addy. I've always got you covered." He whispered in her ear and kissed her on the forehead as she succumbed to darkness. _

**O~O~O~O~O~O**

The events of that night four months ago had haunted Addy's dreams on more than one occasion, each time her reaction was the same. She sat up gasping for air and looking around. Her hand reached for her stomach; the scars were still healing. In her mind those events would forever disturb her.

She was in a strange white room, monitors beeping away and an ugly grey and white gown covering her body. A hospital. Addy ripped out the I.V. in her arm before throwing off her blankets. Desperately she climbed out of the bed, her legs giving out underneath her as soon as she attempted to stand. And crashed to the floor in a desolate desperate heap, her body curling into a defensive ball. She needed to get out of this place. Now.

Everything hurt; it felt like she got hit by a car. '_That's because you did get hit by a car'_ her subconscious whispered to her. She remembered falling into the street, a flash of white light, than nothing. '_What happened after that?'_

Addy didn't want to stick around to find out. She hated hospitals; the overly clean atmosphere, the plastic kindness, the way death lingered in the place… If she stayed around for too long ghosts would notice she could see them. When that happened she'd get bombarded by people that she couldn't help, people who were comatose, people who wouldn't pass to the other side, so many others - she'd never be able to help them all.

She pulled herself up, trying to ignore the pain, blurry vision, and nausea that were consuming her. Forcing her legs to work Addy made her way to the door before entering the hall and doing her best to sneak down the hallway.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Adam demanded, stalking down the hallway and grabbing Addy's arm. His sudden pull caused Addy to stumble and fall. Adam caught her before she hit the floor. He picked her up carefully and brought her back into the room, plopping her down on the bed and staring at her like she was insane. "Dean and Sam are ready to kill you without you doing anything this stupid. They were so worried about you! What-what were you thinking? You're hurt, you're not supposed to leave the bed and you're most _definitely_ not supposed to rip out your IV." He snapped, holding up the cord and looking at Addy like she was insane.

"I,I, …" Addy stammered.

"You what?" Adam asked, he was angry and Addy didn't know what to say. "Stay here and don't move. I'm going to get a nurse."

"No!" Addy yelled grabbing her stomach as a pain consumed it. She must have bruised something pretty good. "I just want to leave Adam!"

"Well that's not happening yet." Dean said as he entered the room, Sam and a doctor following in behind him. Dean spoke so calmly, his face betrayed none of his emotions. But Addy knew better, she knew he was pissed.

_'Do they not care that I was hurt?'_ She asked herself. Judging from the way Sam, Dean and Adam were looking at her now, they were pissed. _'That's the thing; they're so worried about you that they're angry. They're so angry because they care so much.'_

"Addy this is Dr. Casey." Sam told Addy calmly, snapping her out of her own thoughts.

"I'm glad to see your up." Dr. Casey said walking up to Addy "You gave us a little bit of a scare for a while there."

"How long was I out?" Addy asked, preparing for the worst.

"Only a couple of hours." He said trying to pick up Addy's arm.

'_Oh thank God!' _She was incredibly relieved to find out she hadn't been out for that long. The last time she had woken up in a strange hospital she had been unconscious or sedated for three days. Still, she hated doctors, she didn't trust them and there was no way she wanted this one to touch her.

She scooted away from his hand, not wanted him to look at her, let alone examine her.

"Addy." Sam warned and Addy looked over to see him trying to keep an angry Dean from exploding. "Let him look at you."

"I'm fine." She tried to reassure the men but another look from Sam made her succumb to the doctor's careful gaze.

"So Addy," Dr. Casey asked her after he plugged everything back in and started to check her vitals "What exactly happened."

"I thought being a doctor had an I.Q. requirement. I got hit by a car you idiot." She snapped and the Winchesters all stared at her.

"Watch your mouth Kid." Dean warned her.

"I just wanted to see if you remembered." He explained to her.

"Sure you did." She muttered.

He ignored her comment; and while he was talking explaining that he wanted to check her abdomen for damage Dr. Casey started to lift up the hospital gown.

Addy kicked out reflexively, trying to smash her foot into the man's stomach. Surprised by the attack, Dr Casey stumbled backwards in surprise. Sam and Dean stood up, preparing for whatever was going to happen next. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" She hissed.

"I need to check your ribs and your lungs, for that to happen I need you to lift up your shirt." He tried to explain, motioning with his hands for her to calm down.

"Like hell you do! I didn't say you could touch me!" Addy yelled, grabbing her head when a sudden wave of dizziness consumed her.

"What's wrong with your head?" Dr. Casey asked concernedly.

"Nothing!" Addy yelled, pushing herself farther away and nearly falling off the bed. "Stay away from me!"

"Calm down Addy." Sam coaxed, noticing the increase of her heart beat on the monitor. "Calm down."

"Stay away from me, stay away from me, stay away from me." Addy begged. She was rapidly closing in on hysterical, as the doctor took another step towards her.

"Addy, I'm sure you just have a mild concussion. But I need to check to make sure." Dr. Casey explained.

"I can deal with a concussion by myself." Addy snapped and that's all it took for Dean to lose it.

"Sit your ass down, shut your mouth, and let the doctor do his job." Dean warned Addy who by this point was on the precipice of completely losing what little control she still had.

"D-Dean I..."

"I don't want to hear it Kid, I really don't." He said before walking over to stand on the other side of the bed. Dean could see how close she was to losing it; he didn't particularly like hospitals himself. He wanted to comfort her, to take her out of here; but, he settled for putting a comforting firm hand on her shoulder. "I'm right here Addy. Keep it together."

Dr. Casey touched Addy's head and it took her all of herself restraint to keep from punching him when pain shot out. "Ow." She said, glaring at the man.

"I am keeping it together." She snapped, jerking her shoulder out of Dean's grasp as she glared at the doctor. Addy really hated people poking and prodding at her

"You have a concussion." He said with satisfaction and Addy bit back a sarcastic comment. "Alright, I need to check your ribs and lungs. This means you have to lift up the gown."

Addy hesitated long enough to earn a small nudge from Dean. She lifted up her gown enough to reveal her stomach and heard the gasp of surprise from the three Winchesters and the doctor. She knew what they saw, the massive scars that were left over from her encounter with Alistair. They weren't even that old, just over four months and she knew that they could all tell that the scars were fresh.

"What happened?" Dr. Casey asked.

"Car accident." Addy said lied. He couldn't tell she was lying, Sam and Dean could though.

"Oh." He simply said before continuing his examination. "I didn't see one in your file…" He trailed off and Addy rolled her eyes.

"Closed case, no investigation and only mild injuries. Not enough to report." Addy continued her lie.

"Those aren't minor." Dr. Casey said suspiciously.

"Yeah, well, you can take that up with the ER technician at St Vincent's." Addy said with a sigh. The hospital was where she'd actually been treated; Cody had always taught her that when you are lying keep the tale as close to the truth as possible. It makes it harder to detect.

Dr Casey didn't know how to respond to that, instead he just continued checking her over.

Fifteen minutes later he stepped back, looking Addy over like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Honestly, I don't understand it. For all intensive purposes you should be dead. The speed the car was going, the way you hit it… It's like you have a guardian angel looking out for you." He let out a small chuckle.

"Yeah." Dean said with his own laugh before exchanging a look with Sam.

"All you have," Dr. Casey explained "is a concussion, four bruised ribs, a dislocated shoulder, a strained knee, a broken toe, and a lot of bruises."

"All?" Addy asked. "That seems like a lot to me."

"It seems like it; but, all your injures are incredibly mild in comparison to what they could be."

"So can I leave?" Addy asked eagerly, wanted to get out of there.

"Right now I'd like to keep you for observation overnight. Even after that you should be on bed rest for at least a week before trying to do anything strenuous, like school."

"You're kidding right?" Addy snapped, not really caring about the school thing. She just wanted to hunt and she doubted Dean would let her do that when she was hurt. "I thought you said I was fine. I don't need to stay overnight. Tell him I don't need to stay overnight!" Addy pleaded with Dean.

Dean just shook his head, ignoring his cousin's please before following Dr. Casey out of the room to sign paper work.

"This is bullshit!" Addy yelled as panic set in. She was already starting to see ghost, a nurse who was most definitely dead had entered the room during the examination process. Addy had done her best not to give away the fact that she could see her. But that could only last for so long; ghosts could usually sense if someone could sense them, it was only a matter of this time before this one sensed her.

"Addy!" Sam yelled at his cousin's outburst "Language. He's just trying to do what he thinks is best for you. Something you're making very difficult."

"I don't mean to." Addy whimpered, her face making Sam think of an overtired toddler.

"You have a funny way of showing it. First you skip school, then you punch Ruby, then you run off when we want to talk to you and you get annoyed with that so you bite Dean and run away! We caught up with you just in time to see you fall into the street and get hit by a car. Do you know it was like watching that?" Sam finally finished his rant adding to Addy's already horrible mood.

'_I thought I heard someone yell my name…'_Addy thought twisting her ponytail so hard hairs were breaking off in her hands.

"I had a reason for running off Sam. I wasn't doing it to be spiteful."

"Stop playing with your hair." Sam said "Really, you weren't trying to be spiteful?" He asked, looking at Addy expectantly. "What was it?"

"I can't tell you." Addy whispered, fingering a bed sheet. She didn't know what to tell them, if they found out she was a supernatural freak they were liable to say she was a demon and kill her.

"You might want to rethink your answer Addy," Sam told the young girl "because when Dean asks you, I can guarantee that won't be an acceptable answer."

"Sam, I'm sorry. It's not like I was planning on getting hit by a car. On my list of priorities that experience ranked pretty low." Addy pleaded. "It's just, I-I-I'm sorry. I had something I had to do."

"I'm sick of the secrets kid!" Dean yelled, Addy hadn't even noticed that he had come back into the room. "You're going to tell us why you ran off, and you're going to tell us now. We need to know we can trust you!"

"Just because someone's family doesn't mean you can automatically trust them!" Addy yelled; going from contrite to pissed in a heartbeat. "I know that from experience Dean."

"What's that suppose to mean Addy?" Adam asked in a concerned voice. It surprised Addy at how much quieter Adam was compared to Sam or Dean.

"It means just because your related to someone doesn't mean they won't try to hurt you when your back is turned." Addy said tugging at her ponytail.

Silence filled the room before Sam opened his mouth. "Who hurt you Addy?"

Addy opened and closed her mouth several times, not really sure what to say. "It's nothing, it happened a while ago. It's done now, they can't bother me anymore."

"Addy," Dean said sitting next to his cousin on the bed. "What happened?"

The Winchester boys waited patiently for their cousin to collect her bearings. Much to Dean's surprise she was actually going to tell them. Maybe she was starting to trust them.

"I was seven; almost eight." Addy whispered barely loud enough for the boys to hear. "I was with my dad's brother. I guess he was technically my uncle, but I never really thought of him as one. He was never really there like your dad was, you know? Anyway, we were staying in an old motel room. I mean _really_ old, it was just me and him. My dad and brother went out to get some food and your dad was on his way to help but wasn't there yet. He ended up figuring something out about me." Dean opened his mouth to ask what but Addy just shook her head. "I can't tell you what yet; it's something I promised my brother I wouldn't mention to anyone. I turned around for a second to grab something from my bag. If there wasn't a mirror I wouldn't have seen the knife in his hand.

"He, he," Addy's voice cracked as she pulled desperately at her pony tail. "I just managed to dodge it the first time he tried to stab me, the second time he hit something. Later dad told me he nicked an artery. I started screaming. Screaming." Addy closed her eyes for a second. She could still see him standing there. "I was screaming as loudly as I could. Blood was everywhere. I panicked and not thinking I tripped over some furniture and feel to the ground. He stood over me with this freaky psycho look in his eye, like he actually thought killing a seven year old was a good idea! Before he got the chance though, the door opened and your dad ran in. Uncle John. He shot him. That was the first time I had ever seen any one die. It was hard, I had always been told that family meant everything, that you could always trust them. But after that… If your dad hadn't shown up when he did…"

"You'd be dead." Dean finished... His father had been a soldier; he'd taken his share of lives in Vietnam. He hadn't ever talked about it; but, you could see it in his eyes sometimes. A haunted look. His father, Vietnam, a Marine, those things had given John a love for humanity. An almost desperate need to save human life. He had always known his father had killed his fair share of supernatural creatures, but a human was different. Killing another human carried a price; a very heavy price. Killing another human being rips away a part of your soul; it rips away a part of what makes you human. Dean understood why his dad had done it; he had walked into the room to discover that his niece was in danger. If Dean had been the one to walk in the room and discover an endangered Addy, he wouldn't think twice about shooting. Even if what he killed was human; he would pay the price. He would pay the same price that his father had. This did explain lot; no wonder Addy had trust issues.

Sam, Dean and Adam looked Addy over. They saw the way she hugged herself, the way she kept her back to the wall. The way she was always, always ready for an unexpected attack from anything or anyone. For the first time Dean understood why she was so distant, so seemingly cold, so _untrusting_. She didn't know any better; life had taught her harsh lessons he wouldn't wish upon anyone, especially a child. Though she did her best to act like one, Addy wasn't an adult.

The only things Addy really knew and understood involved hunting and fighting, things no one her age should even have to think about. But she had to, because if she didn't, she wouldn't last in the world of hunting. She knew that, and accepted it. Because, unlike most people her age, Addy understood it wasn't about her, it was about all the people she could help.

The silence in the room was cut off by the sudden loud ringing of NSYNC's 'Bye Bye Bye'.

"What the hell?" Dean asked, clearly confused as to where the sound was coming from. Whatever the sound was it had kept Dean from answering, something he was thankful for. What was there to say to that anyway?

"It's my phone, Riley's calling me. It's her favorite song." Addy explained. "I need to answer it, she probably knows I'm hurt and wants to check on me."

"How would she know you're hurt?" Sam asked Addy.

"She's a witch, that and she's my best friend. We just kinda of know if something's wrong with each other."

"She's a witch?" Dean asked, surprised that such a seemingly normal girl was so abnormal. Riley hadn't given off the 'witch' vibe. He reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out the phone he had completely forgotten he had stashed there.

Addy nodded once and indicating to Dean that she would answer his question, but after she finished up her phone call. "Hey Riley, what's u-"

"_Where the hell are you?_" Cody's voice rang out so loudly that Addy had to move the phone away from her ear.

"Cody?" Addy asked, surprise in her voice. "Why are you on Riley's phone?"

The Winchester boys looked up curiously, they had heard about Cody but they had never actually talked to or met him before.

"_You're in _no_ positions to be asking questions Adeline! Just where in the hell are you?" _He asked just as angry as before.

"I can't tell you where I am." Addy whispered, wincing as she heard her brother swear viciously into the phone.

"_Sorry Addy!"_ Riley yelled in the background "_They called your brother when you didn't show up for school today and apparently you wouldn't pick up his calls. So he decided to come here, he cornered me and took my phone because he knew you would talk to me!"_

_"You Hushh!" _Cody ordered the frantic Riley in a voice that expected obedience. "_Why the hell not Addy? If this is some teenage hormonal rebellion anti-"_

"Cody!" She snapped, interrupting her brother's rant. It had been over a year since they had last talked and they were already arguing. It was good to hear his voice, but it was still so strange… "How the hell am I supposed to answer if you won't stop talking? I'm with the Winchesters."

Silence ensued on the other end. When her brother next spoke it was in a slow voice that was anything but calm. "_Addy you need to come back now, it's not safe with them_."

"I'm more safe with them then I would be at school. There was this demon and-"

"_A demon found you?_ _How did a demon-"_ Cody paused for a second before his voice became filled with anger and rage "_What did you do? There's only one way they could have found you Addy and so help me god… If you did what I think you did, I will kick your ass AND you're grounded until you turn 40!"_

"I didn't use my powers!" She yelled into the receiver, not even realizing what she said at first. But as soon as she did she looked up wide eyed at the Winchester boys. They were looking at Addy with shocked and unsure expressions. "Crap." She muttered.

"_Then how the hell did they find you? Because if you're lying to me…"_

Addy rolled her eyes. Her brother didn't get angry easily, but when he did he was impossible to talk to. She pulled the phone away from her ear and covered the receiver with a hand. "You wanna to talk to him?" She asked Dean, knowing he would probably be able to explain the situation better then she could.

Dean nodded once, still staring at Addy like she wasn't human. He gave Sam his signature look and exited the room.

"Cristo." Sam said loudly enough for Addy to hear and become offended.

"I'm not a fucking demon Sam!" She yelled back, hurt that he would even consider that. Her fingers went to grab Riley's necklace around her neck, but she couldn't find it. The only thing she found was her mother's cross. Panic set in, she grabbed a metal bedpan from the floor and used its metallic surface to look at her neck. Though Riley's necklace was gone, it hadn't disappeared. The silver cross her mother had given to her had changed; the blue topaz was now ebony and the once smooth silver was imprinted with the same pattern as Riley's necklace. It was as if the two pieces of jewelry had combined.

'_What the hell?'_

"You have powers?" Sam asked, ignoring his cousin's examination of her necklace.

Addy threw the bedpan off the bed, enjoying its clang on the floor really, something needed to fracture the tense air that had consumed the room. She sighed deeply, slouched back into her pillows and ran her hand through her bangs before she began rubbing her hands together, refusing to meet Sam's gaze.

"Addy?" Sam asked, voice uncertain.

"I'm not allowed to talk about it." She said in a voice that implied it was the end of the conversation.

But Dean, who had just finished up his brief conversation with his other new found cousin, knew the conversation was far from over. "Here." He said, handing over the phone to Addy so she could finish talking to her brother.

"Cody?" She asked uncertainly.

"_I'm sorry I yelled at you._" Cody replied in a calm voice "_I should have listened to what you were saying. But that doesn't mean what you did is right. When you need to go somewhere or do something Addy, you need to ask me first. You can't understand what it was like being told you were missing._"

"I'm sorry I took off like that." Addy whispered. "I tried to call."

"_I know you're sorry._" Cody said with a sigh. "_But Addy, you need to understand some things. Dean told me that you've been extremely difficult and reckless. That shit ends _now_. They aren't going to put up with it anymore than I would. Whatever the Winchesters tell you to do, you do it. No questions asked. Any questions they have? You answer. You running off like you did today, you're lucky you didn't get seriously hurt Addy! You can't keep acting like this, they're our cousins. They need to be able to trust you; and you need to learn to trust them, it is a two-way street._"

"You knew about them?" Addy asked her brother.

"_Yes Addy, I knew about them_."

"Why didn't you tell me? I had a right to know!" Dean watched as his cousin yelled into the receiver, a pissed off look on her face. Zero to angry in zero point one seconds flat. Dang; that girl got better times than the Impala ever had in the quarter mile.

"_Because Addy, it's my job to take care of you. I know I haven't been around lately, but that's going to change. I didn't tell you about Dean and Sam because I was told not to, Dad and Uncle John both agreed it would be safer for all of us if you didn't know."_

"Why Cody?"

"_We're going to meet each other after your hunt is done, at Uncle Bobby's. I'll explain it then, alright?"_ When his sister didn't immediately respond he asked again, "_Alright?"_

"Yeah, I get it." Addy said with a sigh.

"_I need you to promise me you'll do what the Winchesters tell you Addy." _

"I promise Cody." She whispered.

"_I love you Adds and feel better, I mean it. No more jumping out in front of cars! You want to talk to your roommate? I think you probably should, she looks like she's about to have an aneurysm…"_ Cody told his sister with a laugh even though he was expecting the same response he always got whenever he said those dreaded three words.

"I care too Cody, and yeah, I'd like to talk to Riley." Addy said before her brother handed the phone to her friend. She felt better, finally talking to him. It was almost like no time had passed. Still, love…Love wasn't a word she used to describe how much she cared about people. At least not in almost five years, not since her dad… Even though her brother said he loved her, part of her couldn't shake the feeling that he just didn't care, no matter how illogical it was.

_"Hi ya Adds!"_ Her voice light and enthusiastic "_How are ya doin'?"_

I'm fine Ri, how's everything going on your end?"

"_Aside from being cornered by your brother, who I've _never_ met by the way, pretty normal. Woke up, went to school, exercised a demon…You know, the usual."_

"You saw another demon?" Addy asked, instantly concerned for her friend's safety "What did it want?"

"_My extraordinarily attractive, one-of-a-kind roommate. You know, you should really consider going to therapy. I hear they can work wonders when it comes to your strange attraction to danger and-"_

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. I'm weird."

"_Aww, Addy! I didn't need the random appearance of a demon and unknown cousin's to tell me that! I've always known you're special!"_

"Thanks Riley, you _really_ know how to make a girl feel appreciated. So you figured out they were my cousins… I shouldn't be surprised." Addy said, looking over to see her cousin's trying to inconspicuously listen to the conversation. She just rolled her eyes at them and turned away, to at least give herself a sense of some privacy.

"_I know, right? And you really shouldn't, I'm just that good!"_ Riley said it in a cheerful, happy-go-lucky voice that just made Addy laugh. But she had something serious to tell her roommate.

"Ri, I have something kinda bad to tell you." Addy readjusted herself on the bed, trying to prepare herself for the hysterical friend she was undoubtedly about to have. "I'm not exactly sure what happened, but your necklace is gone. After the car hit me… Something weird happened to my mom's necklace too. It's like the two combined or something."

"_You know," _Riley said in a voice that wasn't even remotely upset, much to Addy's surprise "_I have to hand it to you. That necklace has been in my family for generations and almost no one has ever had to use its magic, let alone the first week they've had it on. Don't worry about it disappearing, it just means that you were in a situation that you probably would have died if you weren't wearing it."_

"Thanks, that's reassuring." Addy mumbled.

"_It should be. But the necklace isn't gone, I'm pretty sure it combined with your mom's when its power was released. I didn't realize your mom's cross had a charm on it."_

"It doesn't…"

_"It has to, that's the only way that could have happened. I may not know much, but when it comes to magic…"_

"Yeah, I know. You're the 'Chuck Norris' of magical crap, you always tell me that."

"_That's only because it's the truth. Anyway, your brother's glaring at me. I should probably go…He really isn't that bad Adds, I don't know why you always told me he was."_

"_She what?" _Cody asked from the background.

"Riley you little-"

"_Gotta go Adds. But please _try_ and stay away from cars, oh, and that ghost you're trying to help? You're going to need some help on that one_." Riley said before hanging up the phone.

"Intense conversation?" Dean asked Addy.

"Shut up!" She said with a laugh, hugging the phone to her chest. Dean hadn't asked for it back, which was a good sign. Hopefully things would start looking up. Talking with Riley always made Addy feel better.

"Addy," Sam said trying to speak as kindly as he could. It was hard; to be completely honest he was afraid she might be infected with demon blood. "What did you mean about powers?"

"My family," Addy said with a slight laugh "we're not exactly normal, even by hunter standards. I'm not really sure why, my dad and brother never completely explain that to me. My brother, sister and I, we can do things, things that humans shouldn't be able to do. Canley, well I'm not 100% sure but I think she can sense danger, like she knows if something bad is going to happen to people before it does. She can't see the future, but if someone's going to get hurt, she'll know right before it happens. Cody, he can sense emotions and the future. He can tell what's going to happen before it does, if someone's upset he just knows and there's no point in lying to him because he can always tell. Me…It's kind of complicated." Addy trailed off.

"How so?" Sam asked, relived to not that so far, the powers didn't seem demonic.

"Well, I can see ghosts even when they're invisible to everyone else, and I can touch them."

"What's so complicated about that?" Dean asked "It sounds like you're an average, every day medium."

"I know, but my family holds no history of mediums and there's more. If someone makes a promise to me, they can't break it unless I let them. But that's not it," She shook her head and sighed "I wish it were, but it's not. In the past few days weird things have been happening to me, I don't…" Her voice caught in her throat as she spoke.

"It's gonna be ok kid." Dean said demanding his cousin's attention. "We're here for ya. Whether you like it or not, you're stuck with us. We're not going anywhere"

"Thanks." Addy muttered with a small smile that was quickly replaced with a grimace of pain.

"What' wrong?" Sam asked getting up to check on Addy.

"Nothing." She said flashing a small smile. She was lying, she was really lying. Whatever medicine they had given her to deal with the pain must have been wearing off.

"Where does it hurt? How much pain are you in?" Sam bent down in front of her, a concerned expression on his face. He'd been in enough hospitals and had dealt with Dean and their dad hurt enough to recognize someone in physical pain.

"I'll be fine." Addy assured him, clenching shut her eyes as another wave of pain consumed her.

"Sure you will." Dean said standing up and shaking his head slightly "I'll go get someone."

"No, Dean, it'll…" She trailed off as he left the room anyway. "You're not going to listen to me anyway so there's no point…"

"You don't need to hide these things from us. If you're in pain you need to tell us so we can deal with it." Sam explained as Addy just rolled her eyes.

"Seriously Sam? It's not that bad."

"That's not the point Addy. We need to know if something's bothering you so we can help you with it."

"If something gets to the point that I can't handle it, I'll tell you about it. Until then I'll deal, but trust me Sam; I've had a lot worse than this."

Sam didn't get the chance to respond before a knock sounded on the door.

"Come in." He called, getting up to look at the door.

Sam expected Dr. Casey, Dean or maybe even a nurse. Instead, a young teenage boy, maybe a year or two older than Addy, entered the hospital room.

"Can I help you?" Adam asked, standing up in case there was a threat.

"Yeah, I'm…" He trailed off not really sure what to say. He took a step closer to Addy, something Sam didn't like. Sam stood up protectively, placing himself in between the stranger and his cousin. He stood there awkwardly while Sam looked him over; kind of like a dad looks over a daughter's date. The kid was taller than Addy, and fit. What the hell did he want with Addy?

"I just wanted to stop by and apologies for what happened…" The boy said holding up a plastic bag.

"Why would you need to apologize?" Sam asked, a stern dad like look on his face; God he wished he had a gun on him. Was this the drunk kid she'd pulled out of the street? Or maybe the person who had hit _his_ cousin? He didn't want either of those miscreants within 500 feet of her, let alone in the same room.

"Ummm… Well…" The boy trailed off, not really sure what to say, shuffling his feet awkwardly. "I was driving home when she appeared out of nowhere, I tried to stop but-"

"I think you should leave." Adam suggested; the kid didn't even look old enough to drive. No way he did he want him anywhere near Addy . The boy gulped and nodded once.

"Come on guys, it's not like he meant to. I'm sure he's sorry," Addy told Sam and Adam before looking at the downcast boy "Are you?"

"Yeah!" He looked surprised at the question. "You have no idea. I was so relieved when they told me you were going to be alright."

"Well," Addy said with a fake sigh. "Now you can go into English tomorrow and tell everyone you did your best to try and take out the new kid; but oops sorry, it didn't work." Addy joked, she recognized him from earlier, and he was the guy who had handed her her copy of Hamlet.

"I thought I recognized you!" The kid said, stepping past a bewildered Sam and Adam to get a better look at Addy. "No wonder why, you sit next to me in English."

"Yep." She said with a smile. "I'm Addy." She stuck out her hand as a peace offering; she knew this boy hadn't meant to hurt her. She also knew he wasn't a demon or something else supernatural. He just let off a normal vibe, she wasn't sure why she knew it, she just did.

"I'm Kyle." He said shaking her hand once before holding up his bag "Peace offering." He said before handing it over for her inspection.

"You really didn't need to. I was the one who fell into the street." She said opening the bag.

"I wanted to. Besides, it's not every day you see someone your size beating the crap out of three people twice your size. Even if they were really drunk." He said with a smile.

Sam stiffened slightly; he wasn't sure what to think of Kyle's sudden appearance. Addy had taken to him instantly, too caught up in his charms to do any of the normal hunter tests before letting her guard down. "Cristo." He whispered quietly, satisfied when the kid didn't flinch. Addy looked annoyed at him, but Kyle hadn't even heard. At least he wasn't a demon, but that didn't make the situation any less awkward. Addy had-

"Wait a second," Sam said, interrupting the teenager's idle chatter. "Did he just say you got into a fight will three people twice your size and that they were drunk?" Sam asked his cousin, not sure if he should be angry or impressed. Angry, he decided on angry.

"Yeah, it was pretty epic how she-" Kyle began before getting cut off by Sam

"Addy, say goodbye to Kyle." He said shortly.

"But Sam-" She started

"No buts Addy." God, he really was turning into Dean.

"It's ok." Kyle said before Addy could argue again. "I'll see you in English Addy." He said with a small wave before smiling at her and leaving the sterile room.

"What the hell was that Sam?" Addy asked with an annoyed expression on her face, she ignored the sensation of pain as it threatened to distract her from Sam. Fricking irritating was what he was being. She was just talking to Kyle; it wasn't like they were making out or anything.

"I don't know, where should I start?" He asked with an angry look. "Maybe with you skipping school, punching Ruby, your disrespectful attitude, running off, getting hit by a car… What was the last one? Oh, yeah, getting into a fight with three drunken guys twice your size!"

"Come on Sam! You and Dean already talked to me about all of that… Well, except for the fight. But you know how much worse people fight when they're drunk." Addy said defensively.

"I also know that when people are drunk they're willing to try things with people. What if you had gotten hurt, or even worse Addy?"

"But nothing happened Sam." Addy said with a slightly annoyed look. "I can take care of myself!"

"Because you've been doing such a great job with that!" Sam snapped at her. It took Addy a second to register what Sam said, but as soon as she did her gaze dropped and she shook her head once. Ouch; that made her head hurt.

"I said I was sorry." She said in a whisper before turning to face the wall, ignoring the pain all over her body and mind. Everything hurt too much, if she let one thing in everything might explode.

"Addy," Sam tried to soothe her but she wouldn't acknowledge him. "I'll go try to find Dean." He finally said before leaving the room.

"Come on Addy!" Adam said after the silence became too much for him. "He didn't mean it."

"Then why'd he say it?" She whispered as Adam came over to sit next to her on the bed.

"He's just worried. We were all worried about you, still are actually. We just don't want to see anything bad happen to you. Cheer up." He said flashing a smile. "What did the weird stalker kid give you?"

"He's not weird," Addy said sitting up and opening the bad. She didn't know why she was defending him. "He's really nice; sits next to me in English."

"Ok, maybe he _is_ a little weird…" Addy admitted as she pulled out a VHS version of The Lion King, a box of S'mores Pop-tarts and what once appeared to be a worn out copy of the play Hamlet.

"There's a note." Adam pointed out before Addy ripped it out of the bag and reading it to herself. She didn't want Adam or any of the other Winchesters to see what was in it before she had a chance to read it. God only knows how'd they react.

"_Sorry about what happened, I hope you're feeling better. Unfortunately when I hit you, your copy of Hamlet fell out of the bag and not only did I run it over, it landed in a puddle. So, instead of getting you a new one I decided to make things more interesting and give you The Lion King…Apparently the movie's based on the book, at least that's what my sister told me._ _She also told me that I should get you chocolate, but all the grocery stores I went to were closed and the closest thing I could find was chocolate Pop-Tarts. I hope you're alright, and I hope you like The Lion King and S'mores Pop-Tarts!-Kyle" _Addy paused after reading and looked at Adam with a strange expression on her face. "Kyle is amazing. I'd much rather watch The Lion King then read Hamlet again, not to mention I love Pop-tarts."

Adam took the note from Addy's hand and read it, shaking his head and chuckling over the tape and Pop-Tarts. "Well, at least you won't fall behind in English."

"Well don't get too attached." Dean warned Addy as he entered the room, Sam and a random nurse on his heels. "He seems pretty sketchy to me."

"You didn't even meet him Dean! Hell, you didn't even see him." Addy told her cousin with a roll of her eyes as the nurse handed her a cocktail of pills. "I don't need these." Addy told the nurse.

"Doctor's orders, he said they'd help fight off any possible infections and help you deal with the pain." She didn't even stick around to watch Addy swallow them.

Addy crinkled her nose at the cup in her hand.

"They're not going to magically appear in your stomach." Dean told Addy with a small sigh. "Swallow them."

"Are you sure? 'Cause I'm good with _not_ taking them." Addy said before Dean nodded and she swallowed them dry with a hurumph. "What now?" She asked with a sigh.

"Now we eat." Dean told Addy mimicking her sigh.

"Food sounds good." She admitted and Dean couldn't contain his pleasure.

"Good, are you done with the throwing up thing too, 'cause that's just annoying…" He asked her as he once again made his way to the door.

"Yeah, 'cause it was just _so_ peachy for me." She told Dean.

"The usual?" Dean asked his brothers who nodded in response. "What do you want Addy?"

"Whatever, doesn't really matter. As long as I can eat it, I'm starving." Her stomach let of a loud growl, as if trying to prove her point.

Dean returned a half hour later to find Adam and Addy sitting on the hospital bed laughing over something. "What's up with them?" He asked setting the food down on the table.

"I'm not sure, they just kind of clicked." Sam confessed looking up from his laptop.

"Didn't see that one coming." Dean confessed "Dinner!" He announced loudly and both the kids looked up and began to move. "Not you Kid, you're still on bed rest remember?"

"Really Dean? Something tells me you don't listen to doctor's orders, so why do I have to?"

"Because I said so." He told her and dropped a paper bag next to her on the bed. She opened her mouth, undoubtedly to make some sort of sarcastic remark, but Dean cut her off before she got the chance. "Shut up and eat."

"Aye aye Cap'n!" She said mimicking the tone Dean used before pulling out a plastic container and opening it. "Really Dean? A fruit salad?"

"Yeah, someone told me that fruit was good for you or something like that." He said before walking over to the table and starting on his burger.

"How lawng am I gunna be stuc' hewa?" Addy, her mouth full of food.

"Until we say otherwise." Dean said ripping a bite off his burger.

"I have things to do Dean." Addy said taking another bite.

"We've been in town for a day, what could you possibly have to do that is so pressing?" He looked at Addy expectantly but she just gulped and avoided his eye. "Addy?"

"School?" She said, but it was more of a question "Or maybe just getting out of this flipping sterile prison?"

"I thought we were done with the lying thing Kid! What aren't you telling me?" Dean yelled loudly enough that his brother's actually jumped slightly.

Sam looked over at Dean making a tone it down gesture.

"Nothing!" She said running her hand through her bangs. Dean just gave her a 'cut the crap' look. "Nothing!" She said again before Dean's look turned to anger and she caved. "I have someone I need to help."

"Who?" Sam said shifting himself so he could look at her better.

"There's a ghost. At the cemetery, he's only four…"

"So what? Don't you just need to salt and burn the bones?" Adam asked.

Addy shook her head "He was murdered; he's sticking around because his murderer was never caught."

"We have bigger things to deal with than ghosts Addy." Dean told her, he wanted to help the ghost, but with everything that was going on…

"You do, I don't. I can handle it myself."

"No you can't." All three Winchester's said at the same time, much to Addy's amusement.

"Why the hell not?" She snapped, annoyed that they were trying to smother her again.

"Because it's dangerous. Or maybe because you're hurt."

"I'm _fine_ Dean! I have to do this, it's my job." Addy rolled her eyes. "You never frigging let me do anything."

"Fine!" Dean finally snapped "Geeze, you're so freakin' annoying. You can help the ghost. But not until you're better and not without us, ok?"

"Deal!" Addy said quickly, knowing there really wasn't any other option.

They ate in silence, finishing up their meals before Addy shifted her attention to Sam.

"Hey Sam." Addy said just loudly enough to get his attention. "Where is my bag and the clothes I was wearing earlier?"

"Your bag's in the Impala and your clothes are destroyed so we tossed them." Sam saw as Addy panicked slightly "Why, what did you want?"

"I had a knife on me when I got hit, do you know what happened to it?"

"Yeah, I put it in your bag."

Addy held in her relief, doing her best to remain calm as she simply told Sam "Thank-you!"

"What's the matter? Afraid that you were going to have to attack the nurses?" Adam asked with a laugh.

"So funny." She said with a sarcastic look "You're so funny."

They spent the rest of the night just talking about nothing really important, just family bonding. At one point Addy remembered Dean getting so annoyed at her continuing cringing whenever a ghost would enter the room he even put down a salt line, something that helped comfort her and trust him a little more. Eventually she drifted off into sleep, waking the next morning to see Sam already awake and sitting in chair. A half hour later Dean and Adam arrived and Dr. Casey gave Addy a once over before telling her she could leave. She was moved in a wheel chair and forced to wait while Dean signed a stack of paper work the size of a baby elephant and got instructions for Addy's care and feeding. She was on strict bed rest for seven days with two supervised five to ten minutes gentle walks per day, at the end of the week she was to come back in and Dr Casey would check on her progress. At that point they would recommend a course of physical therapy.

"I can walk." She told Adam as he pushed her out of the hospital, Sam and Dean following behind with an amused expression and a bag filled with pills Addy never wanted to take.

"I know, but I'm having fun." Adam confessed as he raced towards the Impala as fast as he could push the wheel chair.

"Adam, be careful with her!" Sam warned right before Adam skidded to a halt in front of the car and Addy fell out of the wheel chair.

She lay on the ground, body shaking up and down. Panic set in and Sam and Dean ran over to join Adam as he bent down to check on their cousin. "Addy, Addy, are you alright?"

She didn't move, Dean gently pushed her on her back, checking on Addy's condition. He really didn't want to be checking her back into the hospital. As soon as he saw her face, Dean knew everything was gonna to be alright. Her hunched over position and shaking body had nothing to do with pain. There she lay, laughing hysterically on cold wet pavement her cousin's looking down on her.

"Am I alright?" She asked, gasping for breath. "I'm fricking great!" She said with a laugh, and that's all it took for the boys to join her. "I'm free!"

"Come on Kid." Dean said when the laughter finally died down. "Let's get you back to the motel." He lifted her up, attempting to help her back into the car but she just shook him off.

"I can do it myself." She muttered before getting into the car by herself.

Fifteen minutes later Dean helped his cousin onto the motel room bed, sitting down on the bed next to her.

"Alright, so here's the deal. You're going to rest like the doctor told you to." Addy opened her mouth to respond but Dean held up an authoritative hand to silence her. "You're going to need all the rest you can get if you're going to help us with the werewolves and the Ghost Kid."

"Really?" Addy said sitting up to fast and causing her ribs to screech in pain.

"Yeah, but first you get better. Otherwise you're going to be next to useless in a hunt." Dean said flashing Addy a smile.

"Thanks Dean!" She said returning the smile.

"Don't thank me yet, you're not going anywhere until you're 100%." He responded before getting up and walking into the bathroom. . It amazed Dean at the things that his dad used to do to him and Sam that pissed him off as a teenager that he now found himself doing to Addy and sometimes Adam.

There Addy sat, alone, on the bed, picking at the ugly comforter with nothing else to do and already bored out of her flipping mind. Great, just fricking great, the next week was going to be so much fun.


	9. Injuring Reality

**So here's the next chapter. I'd once again like to thank my Hicks07 for being AMAZING** **and editing it for me! It's a different set up then usual, hope you guys don't mind it. Also, just thought I should warn you guys, this chapter does contain the use of strong language.  
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**Disclaimer: I'm feeling lazy, see all other chapters.

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**Day 1-What We Make of It**

Addy had been sitting on the bed for five straight hours before Dean got fed up with her continuous bouncing and the constant channel flipping.

"Kid!" He snapped. "It's been less than a day, if you keep it up you're going to end up hurting yourself."

"I'm fine." Addy insisted as she continued to bounce. She continued her nonstop channel flipping, not stopping more than 5 seconds on any given channel. "Can I go on my walk now?"

Dean rolled his eyes and snatched the remote out of Addy's hand before turning the T.V. off. "Nope."

"Hey!" Addy protested with a glare. "Why not?"

He ignored her, choosing to focus on his research rather than his cousin.

"What was that for?" Addy asked. "I wanna walk now."

"Nope. You had your morning walk already. I had to get you to stop the frigging bouncing somehow." He told her with a sigh; he was doing his best to clean up his language around her. "The bouncing thing is getting annoying."

"The bouncing thing was getting annoying." Addy repeated in a mocking voice, drawing a smile and a laugh from Sam and Adam before grabbing her vibrating phone off of the night stand.

"Who are you talking to?" Sam asked as Addy finished her text and waited for the response.

"Riley."

"You're talking to your witch friend?" Dean asked, barely dodging the pillow Addy threw at him.

"Don't be like that." Addy warned; her annoyance factor ramping up.

"Like what?" Dean asked with a confused look on his face.

"The whole judging thing."

"I'm not being judgmental." Dean defended.

"Yes you are!" Addy snapped back.

"Well…" Dean responded. He hated witches. "Can you blame me? They don't exactly have a great reputation. The whole 'worshiping the devil' crap, they're not exactly traditional BFFs for hunters."

"Riley doesn't worship the devil Dean. Just because she's a witch doesn't mean she's satanic."

Dean ran his hand through his hair with a sigh. "Ok Kid, you've got me, if she doesn't pray to demons, where do her powers come from?"

"Forget it Dean. It doesn't matter." Addy, who sighed in frustration, wouldn't meet her cousin's eyes.

"I'd like to know." He said his patience wearing thin.

"Well too bad." Addy snapped. Dean clearly hated witches, it didn't matter what she said, he'd still feel the same way. Riley was her best friend, she wasn't going to sit there and let Dean insult her. Addy's phone vibrated again, and she smiled as she looked down at it.

Dean's eye twitched in rage and he opened his mouth to respond before Sam cut him off. "Addy, none of us are going to sit here and make any assumptions based on the other witches we've encountered. We are accustomed to witches following demons orders, if there are different varietals of witches we'd like to learn about them. In case we encounter them in the future."

"Whatever." Addy said with a sigh, shutting her eyes and running her hand through her bangs. When she opened her eyes again she saw Dean hadn't calmed down. "Dean, you have to understand." Addy pleaded. "Some things I can't-no, I won't tell you. Not because I like being spiteful, but because they aren't my secrets to tell."

"We're not asking you to tell us her life story." Dean snapped.

"She's my charge." Addy defended "It's my job to take care of her."

"What do you mean she's your charge?" Adam asked confused.

Addy froze. Stupid, soooo stupid. She'd said too much, way too much. "I just mean," Addy said in a desperate attempt to cover up her stupid frigging slip. "That she's from a supernatural family. There are plenty of hunters who would hurt her without even thinking twice about it. I'm not going to let that happen. Can I have my walk now?"

'_Holy crap, they bought it.'_ Addy couldn't help but think triumphantly as Adam nodded his head; her fingers flew over the keypad as she texted Riley back. Dean just glared at her; it didn't look like she'd be getting her walk anytime soon. God; she felt like a dog. Walks twice a day. '_This totally blows!_'

Though some of her trust issues had resolved around the Winchesters, she wasn't about to compromise her secrets. They were hers; she didn't have to tell anyone anything she didn't want to. But this secret, it was bigger than her. It was the glue that fused her family together. It wasn't just her secret to keep, but her brother's and sister's too and, if Addy had to bet on it, it was the reason demons had suddenly begun to take such an interest in her.

It was bad enough that Jase and Riley had found out her whole 'weird supernatural powers' secrets. Jase more so then Riley, Riley was cool with it; Addy could remember the day she had found out perfectly. "Sweeeeet," Riley had said. "Now we both have kick butt ninja powers!"

Jase on the other hand, hadn't been so cooperative…

_"Alright Adeline," Jase yelled at her gruffly, shoving her into a chair as he glared daggers at her. "You start talking right now, you hear me?"_

_"Jase," Addy began as she tried to stand up. With one Jase shoved her back in the chair, giving her a look that dared her to try and move. "This isn't as big of a deal as you think it is."_

_He laughed "Really Addy? 'Cause I'm pretty sure it is. You're going to tell me what's going on, and you're going to do it now."_

_"I can't tell you. Cody ordered me not to say anything." Addy looked away, refusing to look at Jase. _

_A note book was thrown at her, a pen tucked within its pages. "Then start writing." Jase sat on top of Addy's desk. "You might not be able to talk, but you sure as hell can write."_

_"This is so stupid Jase! Why the hell do you need to know?" _

_Jase slid off the desk, walking over to Addy and meeting her at eye level. "I'm older then you, so what I say goes. Got it?"_

_"That's a stupid reason!" Addy snapped back. _

_"Then how about the fact that I can't keep you safe unless I know what's going on?" He asked, his face stern. "But honestly, it doesn't matter because neither of us are leaving this room until you write down," He pointed at the note book. "Exactly what's going on."_

That day had been fun… True to his words, Jase had refused to let Addy go anywhere until she had given him a decent explanation. They had a strange relationship, Addy and Jase. As long as Addy didn't do anything stupid or reckless, they were best friends. The second Addy did something dangerous, Jase went into 'older hunter/ older brother like' mode. He was just as stubborn, if not more, as the Winchesters were.

"Kid!" Dean snapped.

"Huh?" Addy blinked, knocking herself out of her daydream.

"Explanation," Dean continued "Now!"

Addy sighed and rolled her eyes "Riley's part of a family of witches that range back hundreds of years. No one's really sure where their powers originated, why Riley's family was chosen. They practice the earth arts, draw their power from nature, and the seasonal cycles of the earth. Wherever their powers come from Riley knows her way around spell books, herbs, healing, summoning… You name it, she can do it." Addy smiled at the thought of her friend. "She's the Chuck Norris of witches. Not your typical teenager, needless to say, but that's one of the reasons we get along so well."

"Two supernatural savvy teens, that's one way to make friends." Sam commented.

"Yeah, well, it works for us." Addy said with a shrug and a smile, she kept texting with Riley.

"So what? You two sat around discussing supernatural crap during your free time?" Dean asked.

"Not exactly Dean." Addy said, furrowing her brow in confusion. Wasn't it kind of obvious what they did?

"Then what did you two do when you weren't in class?" Sam asked shifting slightly.

"What do you think we did?" Addy said with a small laugh of annoyance.

"For your sake it better not have been hunting." Dean's eyes flashed in anger as he spoke.

"Why the hell not?" Addy snapped back. God, he could be irritating.

"Because you don't hunt by yourself Kid!" He yelled.

"I wasn't by myself Dean! I had Riley with me."

"Oh golly gee," Dean said faking relief "Well that makes it so much better. Two teenage girls hunting by themselves."

Addy rolled her eyes. "If I wasn't supposing to hunt, then what was I suppose to do?"

"I don't know! Whatever kids at that ritzy school of yours do. Normal teen crap."

"What braiding our hair?"

"Yeah, normal girl crap."

"You said it yourself Dean, hunters aren't normal."

"But that doesn't mean you can run around and hunt by yourself Addy." Sam said in an attempt to initiate himself into the conversation; someone needed to be a calming influence.

"Riley and I are perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves. We've been doing it for the past year. It hasn't bitten us in the butt. We were the only two people who could do anything to help. No one else had my back."

"I can guarantee that if you keep it up, it _will_ bite you in the butt, so no more hunting by yourself. Period."

"You were hunting at fifteen. What's the frigging difference?"

Dean kept on talking, completely ignoring Addy's comment and his voice went from serious to a comforting tone "Look, Kid, you're not alone anymore. You don't need to worry about someone not being able to watch your back, or worry about someone not being there to help you. We're family, it's our job to look after you and that's never going to change." Dean said with a small smile before turning his attention back to the table.

Addy was glad she was looking down at her phone so Dean couldn't see her face; she didn't do 'chick flick' moments. God, Dean could be such a cheeseball.

**Day 2-What We Seek We Shall Find**

"Alright Addy," Sam said with a sigh. He and Dean had been gone for the whole day and only came back to the motel fifteen minutes earlier. Addy and Adam had spent the day researching and just hanging out, the two teens had more in common than they had first realized; Adam had taken her for her morning outing. It was pathetic how much she looked forward to the trip outside, even if it was just a slow walk to the edge of the parking lot and back to the room. God; she was pathetic. "I need to change the wrappings around your ribs." He grabbed a first aid kit from a duffle bag and walked over to the bed.

"I can do it myself." Addy said, shifting her attention from her laptop to her cousin. "You don't need to help me. I did my own last night."

"Naw, it's fine." He said before sitting next to her.

"Come on. I mean, seriously Sam?" Addy asked with an annoyed look on her face. She already felt like she was bothering them enough, they didn't need to help her with things she could deal with herself. Not to mention she wasn't comfortable with him seeing her stomach or her scars.

"Seriously Addy." He responded flashing his signature smile.

"You don't need to-"

"Kid, shut up and let him look at you." Dean snapped and Addy shut her mouth as Adam let out a laugh. "When he's done we'll go on your stupid walk."

Addy scooted over to the edge of the bed, every intention of standing before Dean opened his mouth and growled "Don't even think about it Kid; you start walking around now and that'll be your evening walk."

She stuck out her tongue and crinkled her nose at her overbearing cousin. "By the time you let me do anything my flipping legs are going to be so stiff that I won't be able to stand."

"You'll be fiiiine." Dean insisted not even bothering to look at Addy.

Scooting over to the edge of the bed Addy lifted up her shirt enough to reveal her bandaged ribs. She removed her wrappings and prepared herself for what she knew was going to happen next. A collective intake of breath sounded from the men when her stomach exposed to the room. The massive pink scars were surrounded by multicolored bruising from the accident and this time, Addy knew she wouldn't be able to escape their questioning.

"Yeah I know," Addy said in a desperate attempt to down play her injures. "The bruising is pretty bad."

"Yeah, we aren't looking at the bruising…" Adam assured Addy.

"Come on guys!" Addy protested trying to pull her shirt down. "You saw the scars two days ago."

"What happened?" Sam asked, stopping Addy's attempt over a particularly large scar. Addy slapped away his hand and pulled down her shirt.

"Car accident." She muttered knowing the lie didn't work the first time. Her hands crumpled the used bandages into a ball before throwing them at trash can; her agitation over the topic made her miss.

"Yeah, 'cause we bought that crap the first time. What actually happened?" Dean demanded.

"Nothing," Addy insisted "it's not that bad. It's over, it's done." She shook her head emphatically, attempting to brush off any further questions they might have. She could shake her head now without any pain; that was nice.

"Not that bad?" Sam asked incredulously, staring at Addy, eyes wide open.

"Yeah, it's-"

It took five seconds for Dean to cross the room to Addy, four for him to drag her into the bathroom, three for him to force her to look at herself in the mirror, two for him to rip her shirt up exposing her stomach and one second for Addy to realize that he cared too much about her for his own good.

"_That's_ nothing?" He asked shaking her slightly. Addy tried to get her arm back, he didn't let her. If he hadn't been holding her up she would have fallen long ago, her knee couldn't support her weight yet. "Look at them Kid, that's pretty far from nothing! If I didn't know any better I'd say…" He trailed off before biting his lip slightly and collecting himself. "I'd say you were tortured."

Addy let off a small convincing laugh. "Tortured? Really Dean?"

He raised his eye brows "Yeah Kid. Because there's no way in Hell a freakin' _car accident _caused that." He gestured to her stomach.

"Dean I'm tired." Addy whispered before he picked her up and gently dropped her back on her bed. "Ow." She said rubbing her sore body.

"You can lie to us as much as you want Kid; just remember that you can't fool yourself."

"I'm not lying to you Dean!" Addy insisted as Sam bandaged her up. "I'm just not telling you everything."

"Which is the same thing!" He roared, running his hand through is hair. "I'm done with the crap Kid. You understand? Done! I _know_ your brother told you to listen to us, so you tell me the truth now or I'm calling him up." Dean warned.

"You wouldn't." Addy said with a glare.

"He would." Sam and Adam answered simultaneously. Sam finished up his wrapping job and examined it briefly before retreating out of the line of fire.

"This is so stupid."

"You have until the count of five." Counting, was he _really_ doing the counting thing? What, was she five?

"One." Addy didn't budge.

"I don't ask you about all the details of your lives." She snapped.

"Two." He wouldn't really do it, would he?

"Deee-aa-n."

"Three." Dean ignored her petulance and pulled out his phone.

"Four." He dialed a number

"Fi-"

Addy buckled. "Fine!" She snapped, glaring at him with angry green eyes.

Dean let off a satisfied smile that only succeeded in making Addy even angrier.

"This sucks! What do you want to know?" She asked running her hand through her bangs.

"The truth, for starters."

"The truth." Addy spat out. "Everyone always wants to know what happened, like that'll make it easier to deal with. It's my business; I shouldn't have to tell anyone if I don't want to."

"Addy." Sam said with a sigh. He too was getting impatient. "Please."

"Have you ever heard of the demon Alistair?" She asked with a sigh.

"Yeah." Dean said instantly tensing.

"Yeah, well, he's a fuckin' dick."

If the situation had been any different Dean would have called his cousin out on the swearing, but right now he had something bigger to deal with. "Tell us something we don't know."

"How about that he kidnapped me, tortured me. I was in the hospital for weeks." Addy said with a small whisper.

"He what?" Dean asked Addy, he wished had miss heard her but knew he hadn't.

"He kidnapped me-" Addy began slower this time.

"No, Addy." Sam interrupted her. "We know what you said, that was more of a question as in why."

"Haven't we been over this?" Addy asked. "I have no idea why demons do the crap they do."

"Do you know why he kidnapped you?" Adam asked.

"I have a couple of ideas." Addy admitted. "Each as unlikely as the last, he didn't really tell me. He just told me he'd be surprised if I lived to see the end of the world 'no matter how soon it may be'." She said with an eye roll.

"Why do you think he did it?" Dean asked.

"Honestly, the only logical explanation I can think of is that he meant to take someone else and got me instead."

"I don't think so Addy. What are the chances of him and Lilith accidentally targeting you?" Sam asked.

"Not good I guess. I mean, he did say something about having a boss. I don't know if he meant Lilith but…"

"Well, thankfully he's dead." Dean said with a sigh.

"He's dead?" Addy whispered, hope ignited in her heart; maybe her nightmares would be over.

Dean nodded, hoping she wouldn't ask how. That was a story he _really_ didn't want to get into.

"Oh thank god." Dean watched as her body relaxed and she let out a small laugh of relief. "I thought… I'm not sure what I thought, but you can't imagine what it's like knowing he's not out there anymore." She laughed again and one of her hands shot up to cover her mouth.

"What did he do to you?" Adam asked in horror.

"Mainly just the physical torture. But, God, he knew how to get inside your head. Everything thing he did…The guy was like Picasso with a knife. You can't imagine…"

Dean could, he knew exactly what it was like being subjected to torture via Alistair. He knew what it was like, the way he just seemed to know things about you and the way he'd wait till you were just about to lose it before drawing back. Alistair was meticulous, careful and sadistic. Dean hadn't been able to handle it as an adult. So how the heck had Addy, as a freakin' _teenager_ dealt with it?

"He trained me when I was in hell." Dean said simply.

"I take back what I said." An unamused smile crossed Addy's face. "You do understand."

Sam and Dean looked at each other in a way that was just so Winchester. An entire conversation in a glance. What exactly had Addy done to get the supernatural world's attention so suddenly?

**Day 3-Flesh and Blood**

"I'm Boooooooreddd." Addy complained for the hundredth time, she'd about picked the comforter on the bed bare.

"I know," Adam said in an annoyed voice. "You keep _telling_ me that."

Adam was getting more than a little sick of Addy's behavior. He was the one stuck watching her, it wasn't like she was the only having adjustment issues. Adam had enough to deal with – without adding in a moody teenage girl to the mix. He wanted space, time _alone_. But Sam and Dean were about as willing to give that to him, as they were to let Addy hunt by herself.

They had been stuck in the room all day, Sam and Dean had yet to get back from their late night research (though Adam was willing to bet they were at some random bar somewhere) and Addy hadn't really moved all day other than her two walks. But to be fair Adam hadn't let her, he too afraid of what Dean would do to him if she had. The big down fall of Addy's forced respite was the fact that she was running out of things to do. She didn't really want to watch anymore T.V. The motel's basic cable didn't have anything interesting to her. Soaps sucked; in fact all of daytime T.V. blew chunks. Addy liked documentaries or historical crap, a fact that had shocked Adam. His mom had liked soaps; in fact when she had to work during General Hospital she taped it. Adam didn't think she'd missed an episode in the last, well since he'd been alive.

Addy had been day dreaming to keep herself from going insane. Right now she was remembering the time Jase had gotten a new tattoo… Without his dad's permission. He had gotten the tattoo, and he hadn't told his dad that he'd used his fake ID to get it. His dad just about killed him when he found out. At least the tattoo had been cool, he had gotten it while Addy was getting her anti-possession tattoo so she had been able to see it. It was on his back; some tribal thing.

Well, at least it had been cool until his dad had found out about the new tattoo. About two months after getting it he'd gotten hurt on the hunt and needed stitches. So, his dad had told him that he'd stitch him up; but, Jase had to take his shirt off to get the stitches in his shoulder. To say that his dad hadn't been happy would be putting it kind of mildly. Jase said that his dad used his belt; he almost never did that unless Jase screwed up REALLY bad, like going to jail bad. Apparently using a fake ID to get a tattoo was one of those things at least in Mr. Belmont's mind.

God, it sucked being stuck in the room all flipping day. TV was a bust, and there was only so much internet surfing a person could handle. That didn't change the fact that Adam was about to smother her with a pillow. But, hey, what was family for?

"Can I go for a walk?" She was bouncing again.

"No. You already had your walk. Stop bouncing you're driving me nuts."

"Can I go for a run?"

Adam just stared at her "If I said no to the walk, what possessed you into think I'd be ok with a run? Dean would kill me; after he killed you first."

"I dunno." Addy said with a shrug "Lack of judgment in addition to an overabundance of frustration and annoyance."

Adam let out a laugh as the door opened and his brothers walked into the motel room.

"Everyone alive?" Dean called.

"Two more minutes and Addy's life would have been in danger." Adam confessed.

"Why, what was she doing?" Sam asked shrugging of his coat.

"Nothing, she's doing _nothing_. Which would be the issue." Addy snapped "Fresh air is good for the heart."

"You're concussion is pretty much gone and everything's healing up nicely, if you keep it up maybe you can go do stuff this weekend." Dean told her, more to get her to calm down than anything else.

"Really?" Addy asked eagerly.

"Nope, you're stuck here for the rest of the week." Sam told her with an apologetic smile.

"You know if I didn't know any better, I'd think you guys just wanted to keep an eye on me."

Adam coughed slightly, Sam kicked his foot against the floor and Dean scratched his head.

"Really guys?" Addy asked in annoyance. "You're lot letting me go anywhere because you wanna keep an eye on me?"

"Pffft, noooo." Dean protested. Addy just gave him an 'I'm not stupid' look before rolling her eyes. "Ok, yes but that's not the only reason. We just wanna make sure you don't over exert yourself and make any of your injuries worse."

"Come on Dean!" Addy whined. "I'm dying here!"

"Now you're just being overly dramatic. It's late, get some sleep Kid."

"It's only ten!"

"It's not up for negotiation." Dean informed his cousin.

"Fine, I need to use the bathroom first."

"Do you need help?" Sam asked, more than willing to assist.

"No, I've got it."

But in the end she couldn't do it herself. No sooner had she reached the bathroom then her knee gave out underneath her. Adam ended up catching her right before muttering something about "so stubborn" and prideful" before grabbing Addy's bag and helping her into the bathroom.

"Do **not**lock the door!" Dean warned Addy as Adam shut the door leaving his younger cousin alone in the bathroom.

"Uh, someone?" Addy called fifteen minutes later.

Dean quickly crossed the room and threw open the door to reveal a distressed looking Addy who was desperately holding herself up using the bathroom vanity.

"What happened?" He asked, sighing at his overly stubborn cousin as he walked over to help her up, relieved she was already dressed. It would be fair to say that neither of them would have been comfortable with the situation otherwise.

"I slipped on the wet floor. If it makes you feel any better, I now know why you guys don't lock the bathroom door." She told Dean as he picked her up and carried her out of the room.

"Did you hurt anything?"

"Only my pride." She said with a smile as he gently placed her on the bed.

He looked her over, determined to examine her over himself. She was wearing a tie-dyed tank top that showed more skin then he'd ever let her show , but it also let him see the large bruises littering her arms and shoulders. For the first time he noticed a tattoo on her left shoulder blade, the same tattoo he and his brothers had to ward off possession.

'_Well at least we know she's not getting possessed anytime soon.' _Dean thought as he eyed the cut she had received from the demon. It was healing up nicely, but he had a feeling it was going to leave one hell of a scar. "Nice tank top."

"Riley gave it to me." She said watching Dean look her over. "Do you believe me now?" Addy asked with a small smile as Dean finished up his examination.

"Shut up and go to sleep." He muttered, playfully pushing her back against the bed. He'd take the couch again, like he had for the past couple of days.

"Can I take the couch tonight Dean?" Addy asked twirling her braided hair around a finger.

"What? Why?" He asked in confusion.

"I dunno." She said with a shrug. "I always crashed on the couch when I was with my dad and brother; it's more comfortable for me than a bed is."

Ok, so that wasn't the _complete_ truth. Addy had grown up sleeping on the couch, one of the perks being the youngest and the only girl in the household. She _had_ grown use to it, but it was most definitely not more comfortable for her than a bed was. But Dean had sacrificed his bed so Addy wouldn't have to sleep on the couch while she was healing.

"No can do Kiddo." He wasn't about to tell her that she would have gotten the bed even if she hadn't been hit by a car. The couch was closest to the door; he always slept closest to the door. If something supernatural busted into the room, which had happened on more than one occasion even if there was a salt line, it would have to get through him first before getting the chance to hurt his family. He was the oldest; it was his job to keep everyone safe.

"Please Dean?"

"Why do you want the couch so badly?" Adam asked eying the lumpy couch, knowing the reason had nothing to do with any childhood habits.

"It's nothing." But even as she said it Addy felt her face turn red. Stupid red hair, whenever she was even slightly embarrassed her skin would turn tomato red.

"Really?" Sam asked with a smile. "You say no, but your face says yes."

"What aren't you saying Kid?" Dean asked suddenly interested.

"Nothing, it's nothing." She insisted as her face turned an even deeper shade of red. "It's just…Never mind, it's stupid."

"Come on Adds." Adam said sitting on the bed next to his cousin. "We're not about to sit here and judge you for anything."

"It's just that," She paused, not really sure what to say or how she should say it. "I mean, you guys have done so much for me in the past couple of days and I've just been annoying and stubborn. I know it's stupid but there's no way that couch is more comfortable than the bed. Look at it, there has to be some sort of rodent infestation residing within its cushions."

"And you giving up the bed is just a way to say thanks?" Dean asked to clarify.

"Yeah, kinda." Addy mumbled "Like I said, I know it's stupid."

Dean, touched by his cousin's gesture, didn't know what to say. He didn't want this to slide into a Hallmark moment; so he chose to ignore it. "Just go to sleep."

The Kid just nodded once. Something about the way Dean had spoken to her made Addy realize that, whenever he did something for her, he wasn't going to expect anything in return.

As she curled up into a ball Addy made a promise to herself. Family meant everything to these men. It meant loyalty, it meant trust and it meant understanding. She was going to do her best to offer them all three.

**Day 4-Wonders of the World**

"God! It's freakin' cold in here!" Addy complained as a shiver shot up her spine. "Sam can you hand me my backpack?"

"Sure." He scooped down, picking up the backpack and throwing it at his cousin who caught it with ease.

"Thanks." She said, reaching into the bag and pulling out a thick quilted blanket and a pair of slippers.

"Holy crap." Dean muttered in an impressed voice. "What else do you have in that bag-O'-wonders?"

"Bag-O'-wonders?" Adam asked, giving his brother a 'what the heck are you on?' look.

"Yeah, 'cause it doesn't look that big and here she goes and pulls out a massive blanket that shouldn't fit in there."

"I don't have that much in here… Just a couple changes of clothes, my jacket, my blanket, my laptop, my journal, my wallet, my brush, my toiletries, some money, a couple of books and Poncho. But that's pretty much it."

"That's it?" Sam asked with an amused expression on his face. "That's an awful lot of stuff for such a little bag."

"I'm pretty sure Riley but some sort of spell on it so that I can fit more crap than I should be able to in it." Addy commented as she shifted her stuff around.

"A runaway kit." Sam muttered with a sudden realization. "Your backpack, it's a runaway kit."

Addy stiffened slightly at her cousin's words. She hadn't been expecting that, but maybe she should have. Sam was obviously highly intelligent.

"Why would you have a runaway kit?" Dean asked Addy cautiously. Was he going to have to keep a closer eye on her? Was she going to make a break for it? Two could play that game. If Addy thought it would be a good idea to try and runaway, Dean would freakin' handcuff her to the bed.

"It's not what you think." Addy tried to explain to her suddenly angry looking cousins. _Ok_, so it was kinda like what they thought. "It's incase I gotta go somewhere quick and don't have time to pack my duffle. It's happened more than once. You can't honestly tell me it hasn't happened to you."

In all actuality, that wasn't the complete truth. Addy was a runner, in more than one sense, she always had been a runner. If things got too hard to deal with, she'd run. If things got to dramatic with her brother, she was out of the door before you could even blink. Cody hated it, absolutely hated it. He'd call all their contacts, desperately asking if anyone had seen his sister. But it was rare if anyone had. Someone would always find her eventually, even if it did take a while; it was nearly impossible to stay completely hidden if you had a country full of hunters looking for you, especially if one of those hunters was John Winchester.

The last time she had run, Addy had managed to stay hidden for two weeks before Uncle John found her. And _man, _Uncle John knew how to leave a lasting impression. When she saw Cody again he didn't care that Uncle John had 'dealt with her disobedience' as he'd phrased it, he made sure she got the message that running away was not tolerated. Oh yeah, she got the message, loud and clear. Addy hadn't taken off since that incident, mainly because her brother's last warning was enough to make her scared to find out.

_"Next time you run," _Cody warned, angry fire shining in his eyes_. "Your ass is grass. Got it Adeline?" _

No, Addy didn't understand what that meant, especially considering she had gotten the spanking of a life time from Uncle John and then again from Cody. Still old habits die hard and, as a result, she'd accumulated everything she needed to survive on her own in one designated spot. Fake IDs, fake credit cards, a fake passport and a large amount of cash were all stuffed away into the bottomless pit that was her backpack. However, she wasn't about to up and leave the Winchesters. For one thing she was 100% convinced that once they caught up with her (because they were just so freakin' stubborn and resourceful to actually find her), Dean would kill her. The most important reason, by far, was the fact that she liked being with the Winchesters. She felt at home with them, part of a family, and even if they were domineering, demanding, and damn irritating at times Addy didn't want to leave.

Dean nodded as an indication that he accepted his cousin's answer - for now. It didn't stop him from being cautious. He had, after all, grown up with Sam who was a poster child for runaway teens. Dean knew the signs, he'd be watching.

"You have a poncho in your bag? Why do you have a raincoat in your bag?" Adam broke the silence, a confused expression across his face.

"Not a poncho. Poncho, he's my stuffed pterodactyl." Addy said holding up a very worn out pterodactyl that was missing an eye.

"That's the ugliest thing I've ever seen." Dean commented "Who the heck gave you a stuffed pterodactyl?"

"First of all, he isn't just a stuffed pterodactyl." Addy said holding up the pathetically cute stuffed animal. "His name is Poncho. Your dad gave him to me on my third birthday."

"Our dad gave you a birthday present?" Sam couldn't recall their dad ever giving him something for his birthday that didn't pertain to hunting, let alone a stuffed animal.

"Yeah, he was always around for my birthdays."

Dean looked slightly taken aback. "He was?"

"Yeah, he is-sorry, was, my godfather." Addy corrected herself and a sad expression crossed her face.

"Our dad was your godfather?" Sam asked in surprise.

"Yeah, I never saw him much when I was growing up, but he always did his best to show up for my birthdays."

"And he got you a stuffed dinosaur?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, among other surprisingly boyish things, but Poncho was the one that really stuck with me. I never really understood why he never knew what to get a girl, but it all makes sense now…"

Adam let off a laugh. "Where did the name Poncho come from?"

"I wanted to name him Pinocchio, like the Disney movie, but I had a speech impediment when I was little so it graduated to Poncho."

"I can't get over the fact that our Dad was your godfather." Dean commented.

"Yeah, well, there are stranger things in the world Dean."

"Not to us." Dean admitted.

"I dunno, maybe I'm a little biased. He was practically a second Dad to me growing up. He taught me how to fight, how to pick a lock, and basic car maintenance. He even threatened to shoot a guy who was hitting on me once…"

Dean let out a laugh and couldn't help the smile that consumed his face. That sounded like his dad. He'd threaten to shoot any guy that hit on Addy too.

"It sounds like you guys were pretty close." Sam commented.

"I thought we were. But after finding out I have cousins…" Her voice caught in her throat as she spoke "I didn't even know he was dead until after I met you guys in West Virginia." She felt terrible for saying it, but it was true.

"It's ok Adds." Adam comforted her. "I didn't know either, if that makes you feel any better."

"It doesn't." Addy whispered hugging Poncho close to her chest.

**Day 5-Some Hearts**

A look of desperation crossed Addy's face as she stared from the cards in her hand to Adam and back again, trying to get any read off his face. He wasn't giving anything away.

"You've got to either fold or put in your chips Kid." Dean told his cousin with a small smile on his face. He was already out; Adam was surprisingly good at poker, Dean had been dealt a crap hand, Sam had an okay hand; Addy on the other however… Well, she kinda sucked at it and was only in the game because of pure luck.

Addy had woken up that morning with a new attitude. Her previously sore limps now felt almost as good as new; she'd even told the Winchesters they felt as good as new. Dean had even let her walk the parking lot twice that morning! Addy had even refused any of the pain pills the doctor had given to her, and Dean had actually believed her when she said she didn't need them. Her sudden change had convinced Dean she didn't need to be confined to the bed, a fact that Addy had been ecstatic to hear. Even though he still didn't let her leave the room, Addy had spent the day frolicking around it anyway just happy to have something new to do. Dean had finally decided to calm her down; informing her that if she didn't stop moving she was going to be stuck in bed again. Addy had opened her mouth to make a snarky come back, and Sam had quickly intervened and suggested they play cards before Addy and Dean went for each other's throats.

The teenager sighed deeply before dropping some chips in the pile that had accumulated in the middle of the table.

"I fold." Sam said before dropping his now useless cards on the table and leaning back in his chair.

Adam smiled quickly before dropping his facade back into place. "I'm all in." He told Addy shoving the remainder of his chips to the center of the table.

Addy bit her lip convincingly before nodding once. "Ok, I am too."

"You sure you don't wanna fold Kid?" Dean asked Addy, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, I'm sure." She pushed all her chips into the middle of the table before looking up wide eyed at her cousins.

"You do realize that we're playing for chores right? If you lose you're stuck doing laundry, cleaning the Impala and a bunch of other crap for the next month." Sam told Addy, wanting to give her once last chance to back out.

"I'll be alright." She said shoving her chips even more into the pile for emphasis.

"Whatever you say Kid." Dean told Addy as Adam flipped over his cards to reveal a full house.

'_Not bad.'_ Addy thought. '_But I've got better.'_

Addy let her face become consumed in smile as she turned over her cards to reveal a royal flush, something the guys had most definitely not been expecting.

"I think I win." Addy told Adam with an enormous smile on her face.

"You hustled me!" Adam said with an incredulous look on his face.

"Oh yeah." Addy agreed. "You totally just got hustled."

"Well I'll be dammed." Dean muttered. "You don't suck after all Kid."

"Of course I don't!" Addy smiled sweetly. "Our dads and Uncle Bobby use to play whenever they got together. I use to watch their game and they'd teach me as they played."

"And the whole hustling thing?" Sam asked.

Addy let off a small laugh. "Yeah Cody taught me that. He used to let me play in games when we were short money, before he stuffed me at Lexington's. No one suspects a kid; so I'd lose a couple games then win a few and be outta there before the high stakes stuff. And," She paused and redirected her gaze to Dean who looked slightly concerned. "Before you say anything Dean, I know not to hustle by myself. I'm never that obvious and I always have someone watching my back whenever I do it in bars." Addy thought about the last game she'd been in; it had been her and Riley at the VFW about two miles from school. That had been fun! They'd been allowed in because Addy had said her dad had been a Marine and they thought he was going to be there that night. Between her and Riley; they'd walked out with fifty extra bucks. Not too bad for forty-five minutes.

Dean took a deep breath and clenched his eyes shut, a period of mere seconds but what felt like minutes to Addy. Stupid, sooo stupid. She should have known better then to mention the fact that she had easy access to bars, especially to someone who gave a whole new meaning to the word over-protective. It wasn't even like she drank when she was in them, but she had a feeling that wasn't Dean's immediate focused. Her guess was that he was currently focusing on the idea of some pervert hitting on her or some other equally as disturbing event that could happen to a teenager if they were in a bar alone.

"Wow. I can't believe I just said that. How about you ignore that last comment?" Addy suggested with a hopeful smile. "Besides, I don't usually go to bars. I like the VFW and American Legion Halls."

Dean just rubbed his forehead and shook his head. He was clearly angry but doing his best not to explode. "Not gonna happen Kid. No more bars." He simply said.

"Dean." Addy protested.

"No Kid." Dean said giving her a serious look.

"That is so not fair."

"No." He gave her the end of discussion look. Addy chose to ignore it.

"What about hunts? I'm going to need to go into them eventually."

"Fine." Dean said using his arms for emphasis. "No more bars without one of _us_."

"Whatever." Addy sighed shaking her head. It wasn't worth fighting about; she knew she was going to end up in a bar without one of the Winchesters eventually. They just didn't need to know that.

"Damn it Kid!" Dean yelled banging his fist against the table to help make his point. Addy didn't even blink. "Drop the attitude, I mean it. If I so much as hear about you _thinking_ of going into a bar by yourself…" He trailed off, brining his hand and waving it at Addy. "I don't know yet, but I promise you it's not going to be pretty. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Sir." Addy whispered. "I understand."

It was weird, having someone so intimately concerned for her safety twenty-four-seven. It was nice though, in a stalkerish, domineering, over protective way. He was like the house-mother at school; but, ten thousand times worse. Addy could always sneak past her.

At the same time Addy kept trying to express the fact that she was used to taking care of herself. That life's lessons had made her into a loner who never expected anything of anyone other than herself. Making the transition from someone who was used to being unaccompanied to someone surrounded by love and family, it was difficult but something she was more than willing to try. Especially for the men who had welcomed her with such open, protective and caring arms.

"Good." Dean said with a satisfied nod. "What do ya say? Should we play again?"

"Sure." Addy said collecting up the cards, it was her turn to shuffle.

"No holding back this time Adds." Adam told her with a smile.

"What's the matter? Afraid you're gonna have to do my laundry? Come oooooon Adam!"

"I think it's more that like we want to see how can handle yourself." Sam told her with a smile.

"Fine." She promised. "No holding anything back anymore."

**Day 6-Never Surrender**

"I'll have a bacon cheese burger." Addy told the waitress as she handed over her menu.

"Actually, she'll have a salad with grilled chicken and dressing on the side." Dean told the waitress with a flirty smile.

"Whatthehell Dean!" Addy snapped as soon as the waitress was out of ear shot.

"I don't want any repeats of the puking incident." Addy did have the good sense to blush while she glared at him.

Sam tried to calm them both down "Chloraphyll, beta carotene, lean proteins, and a high fiber diet will help you heal faster."

Addy stared at him "English please! And I don't want a salad."

"Suck it up Kid; at least I let you out of the motel room." Dean pointed out. "Besides, you're still supposed to be healing and resting up. A bacon cheese burger isn't going to help you with that one."

"I feel the need to point out that you did just order your own burger."

"I'm an adult." He protested. "I'm allowed to eat what I want."

"Ok, ok." Addy said stick up her hands in defense. "Did you guys look over the information I gave you about the werewolves and Alan?"

"Who's Alan?" Sam asked.

"Sorry, he's the Ghost Kid, as Dean calls him, the one I need to help." Addy told her cousins, fiddling with her silverware.

"You shouldn't get connected to them like that Kid. They're just a job, you salt, you burn and you get out of there." Dean warned her.

Addy met Dean's eyes with a stern gaze. "I've been dealing with ghosts for ten years Dean. I know how to handle them."

"You've been hunting since you were five?" Adam asked incredulously.

"No, I started hunting in the field when I was around nine or ten. But you don't need to hunt to get rid of a ghost. Sometimes they just need to pass on information or just have someone explain to them what's going on."

"A regular old Haley Joel." Dean commented.

"I'm a lot of things; a medium is _not_ one of them."

"Are you sure about that?" Sam asked. "You fit the basic criteria."

"I'm positive. I've met mediums before; I'm so far from a medium it's kinda funny." Addy said with a smile.

"If you're not a medium, why can you see ghosts?" Adam asked.

"I'd like to think it's because of my beautiful looks, witty personality and intellectual insight." Addy said with a smile, a toss of her ponytail and an expression that looked just like Dean's when he was being sarcastic. "Anyway, have you figured anything else out about the supernatural crap going on here?"

"Yes and no." Sam said with a shrug. "We've narrowed the search for the werewolves down to this part of the city. Not much, but we're doing our best. As for… Alan, we obviously need to get the father to confess that he killed his son. Any suggestions?"

"A summoning should do it. Having him face his son's ghost should be enough to scare the shit out of him. It would scare me into confessing."

"Language." Dean warned with a stern gaze, Addy just rolled her eyes at him. "Let me guess. You just so happen to know a summoning spell?"

"Several, actually."

"Well, I don't like it. The last thing we need is a pissed off angry spirit on our hand." Dean spat.

"Trust me Dean." Addy said with a steady voice as their food was placed in front of them. "I can handle pretty much anything a spirit throws at us."

"Someone's being arrogant." Adam muttered as they started on their food. Dean had been thinking the same thing. The last thing they needed was an overly confidant Addy getting herself hurt. But the way she had said it, he didn't think she meant to sound vain.

"Maybe." Addy said with a shrug right before taking a large bite of her salad. She felt like a freakin' rabbit.

Ten minutes later the check was placed on their table and Addy automatically reached for her wallet.

"What are you doing Kid?" Dean asked as he placed some money on the table.

"Paying for my meal." Addy said in a confused voice.

"It's fine." Dean tried to reassure her.

"You've already paid for my meals for the past week. I can take care of the cost of my own food." Addy attempted to persuade her cousin.

"You're our responsibility now Kid." Dean said as he left the table, everyone quickly followed after him. "That means we pay for your food… and other crap like that."

"But-"

"No butts Addy." Sam reassured her. "You're the child, we're the adults. It's our job to take care of you."

Addy opened her mouth to respond but before she could Adam covered her mouth with his hand. "Yes Sam!" He said in his best imitation of Addy. "I understand completely. I'm not going to say anything else about it."

"Shut up Adam!" Addy said as she ducked out of his hold.

"But seriously Addy, they told me the exact same thing when I had been with them for a while." Adam said with a small smile.

"And we meant it." Sam assured Addy as they got into the Impala.

"Guys, I know hunting doesn't exactly pay well. You can't afford to keep feeding me."

"Don't worry about the money Kid." Dean said with a sigh.

"Seriously though, a family friend died about a year ago and left my brother and me with more money than we know what to do with. I can afford to pay for my own food." Addy wouldn't drop the subject; she really didn't want them to feel obligated to pay for everything.

"Even so Kid, we take care of you. Got it?" Dean said in a voice that told her the conversation was over.

"Yeah, I got it Dean." Addy said as she banged her head against the window. Stupid, annoying, stubborn Winchesters!

"Who was the friend?" Sam asked.

"What? Huh?" Addy asked. "Oh, I doubt you've heard of her. She knew about the whole 'supernatural' world, but you couldn't get farther away from being a hunter."

Sam sat there and did the math in his head. A girl who had died a year ago, she knew about the supernatural but was definitely not a hunter. "Bella?" Sam asked in an incredulous voice. "Bella Talbot?"

"You knew Bela?" Addy asked in a surprised voice.

"Knew her? Yeah, we knew that bitch." Dean snapped. "How the hell did you know her?"

"She dated Cody for a couple of years."

"Well fancy that." Dean scoffed. Bella actually had heart? More importantly, someone would _date_ her?

"Ok, so she had some issues." Addy defended. "But she wasn't that bad."

"That bad?" Dean glared at her in the review mirror. "You have meet Bella right?" He took a second to calm down before speaking again. "Sorry, she's dead now. Even I don't like talking bad about the dead."

"It's fine." Addy whispered in a sad voice. Bella had been a sisterly figure to Addy as she was growing up. "She had a very screwed up family, she didn't really know how to interact with people. So," Addy said with a completely different tone of voice. "what are we doing now?"

"I'm dropping you two back at hotel and Sam and me are going to continue with the hunt."

"Come on Dean, we can help." Addy insisted.

"We made a deal Kid. One week. Remember?" He asked her, Addy nodded to indicate that she did. Even though she was still annoyed. "Come ok Kid, you can't tell me that all the excitement of leaving the motel room isn't getting to you. You're exhausted."

"No I'm not!" Addy insisted, doing her best to cover up the yawn that was escaping.

"Sure kid." Dean said with a small smile.

"I'm not tired."

In the end Dean ended up having to carry a sleeping Addy into the motel room. He did his best not to jostle her light body as he gently placed her on the bed. She curled into a small ball as soon as she felt the softness of the mattress. Adam snatched Addy's quilt off of the couch before draping it over her body.

"Adam?" Dean was making his final preparations to head out with Sam. He called out quietly to his youngest brother.

"Yeah Dean?" He responded.

"Can you look after her? Just make sure she doesn't do anything stupid or hurt herself?" Dean hated to ask his little brother to look after her like this; technically she wasn't even his family. "Make sure she doesn't overexert herself."

"Don't worry Dean; I've always got her back." He smiled slightly as he spoke. "She's my family too, blood or no blood."

**Day 7-Breakdown**

"I thought a week meant seven days." Addy commented as she balanced on the railing of the bridge.

"Get down from there!" Adam snapped, grabbing her arm and gently pulling her off. "I took you to the park to get some fresh air, not to fall into a pond. Dean said a week of rest. Which means today is the last day. We can go hunting after you've had your doctor's appointment tomorrow."

"Whatever, as long as I don't have to stay in the stupid motel room 24-7 again. And I wasn't going to fall in." Addy mumbled, rubbing her now sore arm. "I'm not a klutz you know."

"I'll believe that when I see it." Adam said with a smile.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked, hands on her hips and a scowl on her face.

"It means you're probably the most accident prone person I've ever met."

"That's so not fair!" Addy protested as she ran to catch up to Adam. "You guys found me at a weak moment. I mean, seriously, what were the chances of a demon hunting me down the same day you guys found me?"

"That's kind of my point."

"Yeah, well… Shut up."

"I took you to the park out of the goodness of my heart and this is the way you treat me?" Adam asked with a smile. "You're finally well enough to get out of the motel room but Dean won't let you go alone so I ,out of the kindness of my heart, agreed to go with you, and here you are disrespecting me…"

It was nice to get outta the motel room. Both teens were having issues adjusting to their new lives. Addy had the tendency to wear it on her sleeve; and Adam was just trying to keep his mouth shut until he got over it.

"Oh Adam." Addy pleaded mockingly. "Pleeease forgive me!"

"Now it's my turn to tell you to shut up."

"And now it's my turn to be offended." Addy sighed as she bent down to pick up a soccer ball that had just landed at her feet.

"Over here!" A boy called, raising his hand in indication.

"I'll be back in a second." She told Adam, walking away before he could protest.

"Addy?" The boy's surprise voice asked as soon as she got closer. How did he-

"Kyle?" Addy asked equally as surprised.

"What-what are you doing here?" He seemed pleased to see her. "How are you feeling?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just taking a walk with my-my cousin." That's what Adam was to her right? He was just as much a part of her family as Sam or Dean.

"Well, I'm glad you did." His smile made Addy feel weak at the knees. "How'd you like the Pop-tarts and the movie?"

"They were great! I ate them the next day and the movie… Let's just say my cousins are about to completely destroy the tape, I've watched that many times." Addy felt her face flush red as she spoke. Why was she blushing?

"Cool." He said with a small laugh, a slight blush creeping up his face. "The Lion King is the bomb. Hakuna Matata!"

"A Disney movie fan I see."

"Yeah, my older sister loves them. She makes me wat-"

"Hey Kyle!" Another male voice called out. The new kid ran over to Addy and Kyle and looked the two of them over with raised eyebrows. "You ever going to come back over? Or are you going to stay here and talk to hot chicks all day?"

Addy's body had stiffened as soon as the boy had come over. She wasn't sure why, something about him… Something about him was just so, so _wrong_. Just so inhuman. It felt like something was sitting on her chest, she was having issues. She couldn't breathe. It felt like she was going to pass out or faint or something.

"Huh, Nate. I'll be right over." Kyle looked over at the new kid. Nate, Addy thought, pairing a name with a face.

Nate looked her over carefully, taking in her disheveled appearance. It wasn't her fault that the wind was blowing, her hair was messed up, or that for some reason she was feeling incredibly nauseous. But Nate didn't seem to care, he just let off a small, condescending laugh before turning back to his friend."Addy?" Adam called, and just like that he was standing next to her. "Addy are you alright?"

"Wh-what?" She asked in confusion. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine."

"Ok, well I think we should head back." Adam told her, grabbing a hold of her arm just in case.

"Hold on." She turned around to face Kyle and his friend. "Here's you soccer ball."

"Thanks." Kyle muttered before taking the ball. He looked apprehensive. "You alright?"

"Yeah, sorry about that. Just a head rush." She brushed it off with a smile and a wave of her hand.

"Nate I'll be over in a minute." Kyle told his friend as he handed over the ball. "You sure?"

"Yeah, yeah." She insisted, starting to feel better already.

"Alright, well you go home and rest." He said with a smile. "Are you going back to school anytime soon?"

"I'm not sure." Addy admitted.

"Probably next week." Adam interjected; he didn't want Addy to get her hopes up about not going back to school.

"Huh." Kyle looked disappointed for a second before his face lit up again. "Do you have a cell phone? Maybe we could talk sometime soon?"

"Yeah my number's-"

"I don't think so." Adam told Addy, grabbing her arm before he started to dragging her back towards the motel. "No giving numbers to strange guys we randomly meet."

"Sorry!" Addy called after Kyle.

"It's fine." He called back. "If you get a chance, feel free to call me."

Addy barely caught his number before Adam grabbed her arm and started dragging her away.

"What the hell?" Addy fought against his tight hold. "Adam, leggo!"

Adam waited until they were well out of the boy's sight before letting go of her arm. Addy was pissed as hell, met Adam's eyes with a defiant gaze. Before Adam knew what was happening Addy raised her fist and punched him in the solar plexus effectively enough Adam took a step back and bent over to catch his breath.

"What the hell was that for?" Adam yelled, grabbing Addy's foot and pulling it out from underneath her. She fell to the ground in front of Adam, angrier than before; her dislocated shoulder hurt like hell from punching Adam.

"Why the hell did you do that?" She yelled. "Why did you drag me out of there?"

"He could be anyone Addy. You can't just give your number out to random people like that. What if he was something supernatural?"

"You've been in the hunting game for what? A month or two? Where do you get off telling me what I can and cannot do?" Addy stood up slowly and glared angrily at Adam. "That was Kyle; I go to school with him. You fricking met him at the hospital."

Adam stood up using his height to his full advantage. He wasn't about to let her treat him like this. "I may have just joined the fight but even I know better than to give out my number to anyone I find even remotely attractive. Cell phone numbers are easily traceable."

Addy let out an angry laugh. "So what? You think I'm easy? That I'd be stupid enough to give out my cell phone number before checking to make sure he was human? I _know_ he's human Adam. Sam made sure of that at friggin' hospital, you MORON."

He looked slightly taken aback at her comment. His silence didn't last for long. "Even if he is human, you can't let him distract you Addy."

"He's not going to distract me. I know how to balance a personal and hunting life."

"You have no idea how to deal with teenage guys Adds. They're only after one thing. I'm not going to let you do anything stupid. Don't even think about talking to that guy again."

Addy was dumb founded. Was _this_ what it was about? Did he think that she was stupid enough to let a guy take advantage of her? "You're not my brother or sister, Adam. And you're most certainly not my father. The whole 'protective' thing, it's fucking annoying, not to mention unjustified!"

"Watch your mouth! I have every right to be worried about you." He snapped, running his hand through is hair. He was exactly like Sam, he was exactly like Dean, and exactly like Cody. No one ever let her do anything! Adam was the spitting image of both of his brothers. But he didn't have their intimidation factor, Addy wasn't even slightly deterred.

"Screw you." Addy snapped, turning around and preparing to run. She wanted space, time to cool off and time to just think.

Adam didn't give it to her. He grabbed her around the waist and threw her over his shoulders into a two-shoulder fireman's carry and walked back to the motel room, doing his best to ignore Addy's squirming and swearing; and trying to protect her ribs. He had control of her hands and legs so she really couldn't do too much more than squirm. Adam was very happy she didn't weigh more; and he didn't think if she'd been in full-fighting-form he would have been able to get her into the carry.

"What the hell happened?" Dean demanded as soon as they were through the door. "Calm down Kid."

Adam threw Addy on the bed and he shook his head slightly before turning to his brothers. "She went flipping ballistic."

"Did it ever occur to you that my reasoning may have been warranted?" Addy asked in an angry voice as she stood up.

"No, honestly it didn't." Adam retorted.

"What the hell happened?" Dean questioned, staring between the two teens.

"Adam though it would be a good idea to tell me with whom I can socialize before throwing me over his shoulders and dragging me back to the motel room just because I disagreed with him."

"What?" Sam asked.

Adam rolled his eyes. "That guy Kyle, the one that hit her, was in the park and she was freakin' flirting with the guy. Addy looked like she was going to pass-out, like a wave of pain hit her, or she overexerted herself. So I thought we should probably head back. Not only did she give me crap about it but she was going to give her number to him. The last thing we need is a trail for someone to follow. Then she punched me. Instead of talking to me she decided it would be a good idea to try and run off." He looked desperately at Dean, then Sam. "Obviously I couldn't let that happen. I threw her over my shoulders in that two-shouldered firemen's carry you taught me to make sure she couldn't go anywhere and brought her back here."

"Is that true?" Dean asked a shocked looking Addy.

"Kind of, only he left out the part where he practically called me a slut and told me I wasn't allowed to talk to Kyle anymore."

Dean redirected his focus to Adam. "Four miles." He said, pointing to the door. Addy tried to get up and head into the bathroom for a little privacy; she really wanted to hit something. Sam's head shake and hard stare stopped that in its tracks.

"What?" Adam asked in confusion.

Dean rolled his eyes before repeating. "We need to talk to Addy and you need time to cool off. Go take a run and then you can come back to the room."

They waited until Adam had changed into running clothes and left before Dean and Sam turned to face Addy.

She was scared, no, petrified described what she was feeling better. The way the Winchesters looked at her, their face so calm, it reminded Addy of the quiet before a storm. She'd seen that look on Cody's, Dad's, and Uncle John's faces before; it never boded well for her. The shit was going to hit the fan.

"Dean I-"

"No." He told her, face so serious it scared Addy, but she wouldn't show it. She wouldn't let them see her emotions. "You don't _get_ to speak. You get to listen. I don't know how they handle things in the land of 'stupidity and hormones; but here on planet Earth we _listen_ when people who are older than us tell us to do something. We don't punch them, yell back or try to runaway. We _listen_. If Adam tells you to do something, I don't care how stupid it sounds, you _do it_. Every single time. If Sam tells you to do something, you don't ask questions, you just act. And if I tell you to do something, you don't even think twice about it. If one of us says jump. The only thing I want to hear out of you is 'how high?' Cell phones are traceable Kid, you don't just go handing your number out to random people. Do I make myself clear?"

Addy took in everything that Dean said. She knew he was going to explode on her eventually, the lack of a bitch out from the whole car incident was obviously enough for that. But she hadn't expected it to be over something as stupid as a boy.

"I said," Dean repeated more loudly this time carefully enunciating each syllable. "Do I make myself clear?"

'_No,'_ Addy was tempted to say '_I didn't quite understand that. Could you explain it to me again?'_ But she didn't have that much courage. Dean had taken her smart ass comments so far, but she wasn't suicidal or stupid. She had a feeling that such a comment would earn her one very sore butt.

"Yes sir." Addy swallowed her pride and responded. Did he think she was a freaking moron? A total idiot? Hello, Hunter 101. Her effing phone was registered under a completely bogus name Joan Black, her homage to Joan Jett. Even if someone had the number they couldn't access the GPS without the name she had the phone registered under.

"Good answer Kid. How the hell do you think your brother or sister would react if they knew you were behaving like this?" He asked her.

"Don't you talk about my family like you know them. You can look them up on the internet; you can read about them in newspapers. But that doesn't mean you know anything about them."

"What do you have against your family?" Sam asked. "You get so defensive every time someone mentions them."

"None of your business!" Addy snapped.

"What did I _just_ say Kid?" Dean asked "I seriously recommend you reconsider your answer."

"What do you want me to tell you?" Addy laughed. "That I haven't seen my brother in over a year? That he wasn't there when I really needed him? Or do you want me to tell you about how I haven't seen my sister in five years? Or maybe you want to know that the last time I talked to her I wasn't even eleven yet, and the only reason we talked then was because my brother was having custody issues? My family's screwed up. So no, I don't like talking about it. Ever."

Both brothers looked slightly taken aback, unsure how to respond.

"That's what I thought." Addy snapped, she grabbed her backpack and made her way to the door.

"Where are you going?" Sam asked, stepping in front her before she could get to the door.

Addy tried to step around him; he just went in front of her again. "Move Sam!" She yelled.

"No." He said shaking his head.

A hand grabbed her bag and threw it across the room before shoving Addy backwards onto the bed. "What the fuck Dean?" Addy demanded.

"One: Watch your language; I don't care how angry you are. And two: Where the hell do you think you're going?" Dean asked her, his voice dropping to a growl.

"Away from here. That's what you want right? You don't want me here anymore…" Addy was confused, after everything… Didn't they want her to leave? Hadn't she done enough to make them want to get rid of her ten times over?

"What?" Sam couldn't keep his surprise from his voice. "Why on earth would you think that?"

"Why would we want that?" Dean asked in an equally as confused voice.

Wasn't it obvious? Shouldn't they know at this point that she wasn't a family type person? That she wasn't worth keeping around?

"After everything… I just thought…" Addy whispered.

"That what?" Dean laughed slightly "That we wouldn't want you around?"

"Yeah."

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard in a while." Sam told her, face completely serious. "Why would you think that we'd want you to leave?"

"I don't know, I just assumed after everything-"

"Don't be stupid Addy." Dean told her.

Addy? Had he just called her Addy? Dean _never_ called her Addy.

"But-"

"No." He cut her off, not letting her finish what she was about to say. "We don't want you to leave. Just because we're upset with you and your behavior doesn't mean we're about to drop you off at the nearest bus station and leave you to fend for yourself. Is that honestly what you really think?"

Yeah, yeah that was honestly what she really thought. "I-I guess so." She admitted.

"That's not going to happen. Ever. Do you understand?" Dean kneeled and placed himself directly in her line of sight. He looked her in the eyes, wanting her to know he meant what he was saying.

"Yes Dean. I understand."

"Oh and Kid." He said, walking over to the table to grab a large duffle before he placed it next to her on the bed. "You're grounded. Which means no dates, no snarkiness, no going anywhere without one of us, and extra chores. You can start with cleaning all the weapons." He gestured to the bag and offered Addy a small smile.

"Oh joy." Addy muttered.

"What did I just say about being snarky?" Dean asked.

"Sorry. I mean 'I shall clean the contents of the bag to the best of my abilities'."She said in a sarcastic voice.

"That's better." Dean said before plopping down on the couch and closing his eyes.

**Day 8-Shattered **

"You're watching The Lion King, again?" Adam asked in an incredulous voice.

"Hey, it's not my fault that Dean's stupid grounding rules include not being able to watch TV unless it's already on and even them I'm not allowed to change the freakin' channel. You're the one that left the TV on. I'm not the one that put it on the frigging Disney Chanel so yes, yes I am going to watch it again." Addy said as she readjusted herself on the bed.

"Really Adds? We're finally going out with Sam and Dean to hunt and you've taken this time to watch a movie instead of getting ready."

"I have everything I need all ready. Dean's in the shower and Sam's at the library. We're not going anywhere anytime soon. Dean's worse than a freakin' teenage girl when it comes to showers."

"Well I'm not sitting through another rendition of the depressing life of Simba. I'm taking a nap."

"It's ten-thirty. Do you know how pathetic that is?"

"Someone kept me up all night again with their shrieking."

Addy ignored him. Dean and Sam had been too kind to mention it, but Adam hadn't been as modest. For the past week Addy had been screaming in her sleep, trying to fight off the horrific creatures that attacked in her dreams. Addy knew she had nightmares, she just hadn't known they were that bad. None of the Winchester men had been getting much sleep as a result of Addy's dreams, which only added to her feelings of guilt.

Adam lounged against the head board of his bed before shutting his eyes. He wasn't going to end up falling asleep, but at this point if he just rested his eyes he'd be better off than he was now.

It was about twenty minutes later that Addy felt a chill run up her spin. She felt something in the pit of her stomach, a warning, an indication. But of what she had no idea. She sat up, grabbing the controller in her hand to help ward off whatever was coming. The feeling reached its pinnacle and Addy turned around, coming face to face with a man in a trench coat.

Without thinking Addy let off a scream and threw the control at her unknown assailant. His face, his body, it was surrounded in a pure white glow. So welcoming, so deadly and so, so inhuman.

The controller bounced off the man's body and hit the ground with a crash. He stared at Addy, and she stared back. And just like that she knew he wasn't going to hurt her, she knew he was safe, her protector. She felt so childish just thinking about it, so vain. An angel. 

"Addy!" She heard three different voices yell. Sam bounded into the room from the parking lot, Dean pushed through the bathroom door and Adam scrambled off the bed.

"Cas?" Dean asked in a surprised voice; holding up his towel. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Dean." The Angel said before turning around to look at him. "I didn't realize she was here."

"Dean," Addy asked as she stepped away from the stranger and schooched closer to the safety of her intimidating cousin. "Who is this?"

"Adam," Dean said in a stern voice, not even meeting Addy's eyes. "Take Addy out to the car."

"Dean-" She tried to protest.

"Not now Kid." Dean snapped in such a harsh voice that Addy felt hurt. She pushed past Sam and out into the parking lot.

Addy felt, rather than heard, Adam follower her out to the car. So stupid of her, letting her emotions get the best of her. But she couldn't help it at that moment.

"Addy," Adam ran to catch up to her. "Addy what's wrong?"

"Nothing," She insisted. "I'm fine."

"If you're fine; I'm the Easter Bunny. Come on; tell me what's wrong?"

"I'd prefer not to." Addy said leaning gently against the Impala. "Emotions simply get in the way."

"Well, that's healthy." Adam said sarcastically.

"What?" Addy cast Adam a questioning gaze.

"So, you just keep everything inside until it comes out in one giant explosion of emotion?"

"Pretty much." Addy grudgingly nodded her head up and down in response.

"Gee, what a wonderful way to handle things."

"But isn't it?" She asked with a fake smile.

Adam opened his mouth to respond, but he wasn't give them chance. A hand smashed down against his head, causing his body to fall to the ground in an unconscious heap. The face of an all too familiar demon met Addy's gaze with a terrible smile.

"Well, well. Addy, long time no see." Freak Boy; the demon from her late night stroll.

"Not long enough." She hissed, bending down to check Adam's pulse; keeping her eyes on Freak Boy.

"He's fine, I didn't kill him if that's what you're afraid of."

"Not exactly." She did her best to sneak her hand up her pant leg, fumbling with the strap that held her knife in place. "How'd you find me?" She stood up, hiding her knife up the sleeve of the flannel shirt she'd stolen from Dean.

"Let me tell you," he stepped over Adam in an attempt to get closer to Addy. She stepped back; preparing herself for what she knew was going to happen. She was ready this time; she wasn't going to let him hurt her again. "You're not easy to find. Whatever cloaking spell you have on you, it's affective."

Cloaking spell? What cloaking spell? Riley's necklace, it must be hiding Addy from the supernatural world.

"But what you didn't count on," He continued, a menacing smile on his face. "Was that I could use some of the blood you got on me to track you down. It was a pain in the ass though, a onetime deal. Unfortunately if you move again I'm not going to be able to track you at all."

"How terrible." Addy said in a sarcastic voice. "A real downer. We've had such happy times together."

"I know Lilith told me just to scare you." He told Addy as he brushed her hair out of her face. "But the way you screamed that night, the way you bleed… It was just so addicting."

"You're sick." Addy snapped, backing up even more. She needed to get them into open space, she needed room to maneuver.

"Maybe. But I still want more."

"Don't you think your boss is going to be pissed if you kill me?"

"What's the matter? Afraid that I'm going to hurt you?"

"More like I'm curious as to why your boss has taken such an interest in me."

"Sorry Sweatheart, I'm not high enough on the totem pole to know that one."

"You're not?" Addy asked, fingering her knife. Waiting, waiting for the perfect opportunity.

"Nope I'm just-"

Addy lashed out, dropping the knife into her hand and bringing it up to cut against the demon's flesh.

"Shit." She cursed as the knife missed his throat and cut into his chest.

"Bitch." He cursed, lashing out with his arm. The hit knocked her back several feet but she refused to fall to the ground. He brought up his arm again. This time Addy ducked under the punch, grabbing his arm with her free hand and twisting it until she heard a satisfying crack.

It didn't stop him for long, she hadn't expected it to. As he brought up his foot in a kick, Addy twisted around, dodging the blow and sweeping his leg out from underneath him.

She stood over his body; she looked him in the eye and felt nothing, no trace of life, and no human soul hidden within the possessed body. That made things much easier, but more depressing. An exorcism would take up time Addy didn't have, Dean and Sam could walk out of the motel room at any moment. Addy didn't want to have to deal with Dean being even more overbearing, she had been outside of the motel room for all of three minutes and a stupid freakin' demon had already hunted her down. Needless to say, them finding out about this would do nothing but fuel the Winchester's belief that Addy was incredibly unlucky.

" What are you going to do?" The demon asked her with a laugh. "It's just a knife, it can't hurt me. Oh; this is so much fun!"

Addy didn't respond, she didn't even blink. Instead she dragged the knife across his throat, satisfied only when the bright yellow-white light protrude from the cut, his eyes and his mouth.

She felt the energy leave his body and looked down at the unresponsive corpse. He was dead; he was never going to bother her or anyone else again. Addy took a breath, a weight had lifted.

Adam, she needed to check on Adam. She could deal with the body later.

Addy stood up turning around, expecting to find nothing but an empty parking lot. Instead she got three different looks from three different men.

Dean, confused and angry.

Sam, concerned.

And Cas, the Angel, completely expressionless. No visible emotions, nothing Addy could read.

"I…" Addy didn't bother continuing, she didn't know what else there was to say.

"Where did you get that knife?" The Angel asked pointing to the silver dagger in her hand. Looking at his face, Addy realized one thing.

He knew what the knife was.

And that meant he knew what she was.


	10. A Larger Collection

**I'd like to give a massive thanks to Hicks 07 for editing this chapter for me. So anyway, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural

* * *

**

The first time I realized I wasn't completely human I was four years old; almost five. Young by adult standards, but ancient by own.

I was carefree, innocent, but far, far from normal. At the time my father had left me in the care of Uncle John, he had some local business to take care of and Cody, who would normally care for me in the absence of my father, had a wicked bad case of the flu. Fever, chills, puking, the whole thing.

That fateful day Uncle John had left Cody in the motel room to rest and had taken me on one of his necessary research trips to the library, during which I had been patent and well behaved enough to earn me an hour or two of free time in a park. Though not many people would remember their life at the age of four, I can remember all the details. The shirt I had on was pink with flowers; my car seat was blue; Uncle John had on a green t-shirt.

_"Uncle John?" I asked him, swinging my legs back and forth in my car seat. _

_He looked at me through the review mirror. "Yes Adeline?" _

_I stuck out my tongue and crinkled my nose at the use of my full name. "Nooo." I corrected him. "It's Addy,'member?"_

_"I remember, but it seems a shame to not use such a pretty name." _

_"Cody says it's not pretty, he says it's just long and annoying."_

_Uncle John frowned deeply, he bit his lip slightly and I could have sworn I saw a look of sadness cross his face. _It was only much later I discovered that the name Adeline was one my Aunt Mary had picked out in the event of ever giving birth to a girl. After her sister's death my mother had named me Adeline in her honor. _"He's your older brother, but even he isn't always right."_

_I nodded in agreement, and smiled in anticipation. "Are we goin' to the park now?"_

_He let out a bark of a laugh and nodded his head yes. "What's the matter? You didn't like the library?"_

_"I liked the liberary, but the stuuuupid mean old lady wouldn't let me read good books. She said I shouldn' preten' that I could read, so she just let me look at the books with all the pictures in 'em. Only I wasn't pretenden' to read 'em."_

_"Addy," he warned me with a serious look. "You need to respect your elders."_

_"Sorry. But I _like_ big books, they're interesting."_

_"You shouldn't lie either Addy. It's alright if you can't read yet. You're only four." He reminded me._

_"I can too read!" I protested, crossing my arms and scowling at the back of his head. _

_"Young lady, do not look at me in that tone of voice!" _

_"Huh?" I asked in confusion, dropping my arms as I spoke. _

_"That's better." He said in satisfaction. "Why are you saying you can read? No one's going to be mad at you if you can't."_

_"But I _can_ read Uncle John!"_

_He looked slightly confused for a second, if not a little impressed. "Who taught you how to read?"_

_"I did!" I said. Didn't everyone teach himself how to read? _

_He parked the Impala in an empty space and got out to unbuckle me. I beat him to it; I eagerly jumped out of the car as soon as he opened the door and started walking across the parking lot. _

_"Adeline!" He yelled, grabbing my arm and pulling me to a stop. He looked down at me, an angry, worried look on his face. "Do **not** run off without me. What if a car didn't see you? You could have been hurt!"_

_"I'm sorry." I told him, sticking my thumb in my mouth. I hadn't meant to scare him._

_"You need to be careful. There are a lot of dangerous things out there."_

_"Like the things you and Daddy hunt?" I asked him, holding his hand as we walked across the parking lot._

_"What do you know about what your father and I do?" He asked, looking down at me. He looked sad now, like he didn't want me to know stuff. _

_"Nothin' much." I admitted. "Just that you make sure that the things in the closet don't get people."_

_"Good. Look, Addy," He said, kneeling down in front of me to look me in the eyes. "What your father and I do… I don't want you worrying about it. You're safe; we won't let anything happen to you. Go play, have fun, and just be a kid." He told me, gesturing to the massive jungle-gym. _

_I didn't need to be told twice, I took off running towards the slides. _

_A half hour passed without much incident. My uncle, would occasionally look up from the book he was reading to yell at me to be careful. _

_The only thing that concerned me was the old man wearing a suit that was following a boy a year or two older than me. No one but me seemed to notice him; the way he was looking at the boy, it was almost as if he was waiting for something. _

_Five minutes later I found out what. I saw a bee land on the boy's arm, I saw the boy slap at the insect, and I saw the boy scream as he was stung. _

_The man who, had previously just stood there, placed his hand over the boy's neck and the boy started choking and gasping for air. _

_I knew the old man was causing it. I didn't know how, but I knew he was._

_"Leggo. Leggo of him!" I yelled, running over and hitting the man with my small fists. "Leave him alone!"_

_The man let go of the boy's neck and looked down at me. But the boy didn't stop choking, he was struggling to breath and if he didn't stop soon, he would die. The man stared at me, almost as if he was surprised that I could actually hit and see him. _

_"You have no right to stop me from my duties little one." The man warned. "I am a Reaper, I guide the dead. You guide the living."_

_"He's not dead!" I yelled at the man. Uncle John looked over at me and as soon as he realized what was happening he started running to me. "Why are you killing him?" By this time people had noticed what was going on; the boy's mother was on the phone, sobbing hysterically._

_"I am doing nothing, he is not dead yet but soon he will be. His time on this world is over. I need to carry him onward into his next life, and you need to let me little Guardian."_

_"What's a Guardian?" I asked in confusion. _

_He just looked down at me. "You will know soon enough." He warned before disappearing right in front of my eyes._

_"Addy." Uncle John called, running over to me and picked me up. He covered my eyes as we made our way over to the car "You don't need to see this baby."_

_"What's going to happen to him?" I asked as he buckled me into my car seat. _

_"I don't know baby." _

_"The man in the suit said he was going to die." _

_Uncle John paused in his efforts of inserting the straps into the necessary buckles in order to look at me more effectively. "What man in a suit Addy?" He didn't let his face show any emotions._

_"I dunno who he was. He said his name was Reaper and that he had to carry the boy into his next life." _

_"You saw a Reaper?" Uncle John looked scared, like he wasn't sure if he heard what I said correctly. _

_"Didn't you see him?" _

_"No, I didn't." He whispered, running his hand over his face. The way he was looking at me… It was a look of surprise mixed with anger and fear. "Addy, do not mention this to anyone other than your dad or me. Ever. That's an order. Do you understand?"_

_"What did I do wrong?" I asked, tears welling up in my eyes. Why was he so angry? _

_"Nothing Sweetheart." He whispered, hugging me before he kissed my forehead. "You didn't do anything wrong. I just need you to promise me that you won't tell anyone about this or the Reaper."_

_"I promise Uncle John." I told him, meaning the words with all my heart and knowing there was nothing normal about my encounter with the reaper._

The fact that I could somehow see a man that no one else could was surprising to say the least, but the way my uncle stared at me… It was the same exact way Dean looked at me now.

Surprise mixed with anger and fear. As if it was _my_ fault this random demon had chose to attack me. I was sick of it. Sick of the supernatural world using me as a punching bag, sick of having to keep promises to people who were never 100% honest with me, and sick of having the Winchesters catch me in sticky situations.

I stood there, mouth slightly a gape and a look of surprise on my face. I held my knife, my stupid, special, one-of-a-kind knife, behind my back. How was I supposed to answer the Angel's stupid question?

'_Where do you get that knife?'_ He had asked me. I could see how great _that_ conversation would go.

'_You see, some random guy showed up at my school like six months ago. He seemed pretty normal until he killed my boyfriend, Ryan, and tried to hurt Riley with the knife. I kinda had to kill him, but not before told me that heavenly ties would protect me on the road to my destiny. After he was killed I took the knife. Turns out you have to kill someone in order to become its rightful owner, sorta like an initiations right. But that's ok, because the guy totally planned the whole thing 'cause I was supposedly destined to have it and he knew I wouldn't kill him unless he provoked me. Even though the knife is only supposed to appear on Earth during times of desperation, I kinda figured that someone had just screwed up because everything seemed relatively normal. Turns out it's the apocalypse and I should have been using it to fight the demons the whole time, and instead I was just being lazy. My bad!'_

Yeah, that would go over well…

But here I was, unable to respond, unable to tell my cousin's the truth. And it sucked so, so much. Honesty may be the best policy, but the truth could easily get me killed.

"He asked you a question Adeline!" Dean yelled at me. "And I'd like to know the answer."

"I'm sorry," I apologized with a shake of my head. I meant it too, but that didn't seem to matter to them. "I can't tell you."

And that's all it took for Dean to lose it.

**O~O~O~O~O~O**

Dean crossed the parking lot in two strides. He was angry, no, he was pissed, fucking pissed. Addy had done nothing but keep secrets and lie to the Winchesters from the start. So far it had done a pretty good job of getting her into trouble.

Addy took a step back, bending down clean her dagger on Freak Boy's shirt and putting her dagger away before looking up, her face doing its best to not show emotions. But Dean knew better, he knew that look. It was the same look Sam had given their father every time he had disobeyed a direct order growing up and knew there was going to be repercussions. It was a look of defiance.

Good, because Dean was going to give it to her; the little brat would not be sitting well this evening. If she was going to act like this; he would punish her just like Dad had punished him and Sam when they'd pulled crap like this. Dean was done with the attitude; it was time for an attitude adjustment.

He tried to grab her arm, to drag her back to the motel room. But she didn't let him. She twisted out of his grasp and took another step back.

"No Dean." She told him, voice stern. "You can do whatever you want to me later, but right now it isn't about me."

"Really Kid?" He asked in an incredulous voice. "Then what the hell is it about?"

"Adam." She snapped before turning to go around the car to the unconscious boy. Dean felt like a dick, he had been too preoccupied by Addy's demon fighting to notice his baby brother.

"What the hell happened?" He asked, bending down next to Addy as she checked Adam over.

"The demon snuck up behind him and knocked him out." Addy said, checking his pulse. "It's normal. I think he just has a concussion. But he's been like this for a while. I think it's a pretty bad one…"

"How long has he been out?" Dean asked, doing his own examination of Adam. He looked so young and vulnerable and wasn't moving; that really worried Dean.

"Longer than he should have been." Addy whispered placing a hand on his forehead, almost as if she was checking his temperature.

Dean felt the void in his stomach grow, his little brother was hurt. Really hurt. What the hell would Dean do if something happened to his baby brother?

"Cas," Sam asked in a concerned voice. His little brother needed help. "Can you heal him?"

"I'm not sure. He isn't supposed to be my charge." The Angel admitted, his eyebrows furrowing in some emotion Addy couldn't quite place.

"I can." Addy said, voice shaking slightly.

"You can heal him?" Dean asked in an annoyed voice. Was the kid that desperate for attention that she would make up a crap excuse like that?

"Yes and no." She did her best to explain. "I have the ability, but-but I don't know how to use it." She looked up to meet the eyes of Cas. "But you do. You can channel my powers and heal him, right?"

"Addy, why do you have the ability to heal?" Sam asked.

"I can't tell you and even if I could, I don't have time to explain. Please," She pleaded. "Just trust me on this is one."

"We've trusted you on a lot lately Kid." Dean told her, looking down at his unresponsive brother as he spoke.

"I know Dean," She closed her eyes for a second before looking up to meet Dean's harsh, judgmental gaze. "But you don't understand. I _literally_ can't tell you. I'm not sure why I can do these things. But I promise you, as soon as I figure it out, I'll tell you."

"I'm going to hold you to that Kid." He told Addy before looking up at Cas. "Can you do that? Can you use her powers to heal Adam?"

"I'm not sure. But I can try." The angel bent down next to Adam before picking up Addy's hand. He placed a hand over Adam's forehead and began staring into Addy's eyes.

The change happened instantly. A white glow erupted from Castiel's hand right before Addy's eyes rolled backward into her head and she fell backwards into Dean's arms. Adam stirred, his consciousness gain at the loss of Addy's.

"Wh, whhat happened?" Adam demanded, sitting up to look at Addy. "Cas? What are you doing here? What's going on? I remember looking at Addy then…Then nothing."

"A demon attacked Addy; great observation job there bro. Cas did something funky and used Addy to help heal you but…" Sam told Adam as he kneeled down to check on Addy. Dean walked over to his little brother, giving him a once over before turning to face a concerned looking Sam.

"What the hell happened to her?" Dean demanded

"The use of her abilities caused her to lose consciousness." Castiel told the Winchester brothers. "She will awaken soon. But you must make sure she does not attempt to use her healing without the guidance of myself or another angel. Otherwise she may end up releasing too much energy and could permanently injure herself."

"Why can she do these things Cas?" Sam asked, looking down at Addy. Adam may be alright now, but they now had Addy to worry about. She had just gotten better, was she going to be out of commission again? "Is she going to be alright?"

"When she awakens she will be tired, but she will be healthy. I am not sure why she can do these things. But Dean," The angel turned away from the unconscious girl to look at the oldest Winchester. "The demons want something from her. You must make sure nothing untoward happens to her."

"There's no way in hell I'm going to let anything happen to her." Dean clutched Addy tightly to his chest as she started to stir.

"Dean," Addy moaned. "You're hurting me."

Dean relaxed his grip; closing his eyes for a second in relief. They were both alright. Thank God, they were both alright. "Yeah, well, that's what you get for passing out like that."

"I didn't pass out." Addy defended as Dean helped her stand. "I just shut my eyes for a brief rest. You okay Adam?"

"Yeah, thanks to you."

"No problem." Addy assured with a yawn. She brought up a hand to cover her mouth as her face turned green.

"Kid?" Dean asked, as Addy began to grimace.

"One sec." She said, lifting up a finger before she turned and emptied her stomach onto the ground.

"Was that supposed to happen?" Dean asked.

"I wouldn't know." Castiel admitted.

"How can't you know? You're an Angel. Aren't you supposed to be all knowing?" Dean snapped.

"That girl… She's not normal. I'm not sure she's completely human. That knife… It's special. Its appearance on earth means that an era of arduousness is coming. The last time a human had possession of the knife was over two hundred years ago. For it to be in her possession, it means that whatever is coming, that girl is going to be part of it. "

"That girl," Addy snapped walking back over to the men and wiping her mouth on her sleeve. "Is named Addy. And there's nothing special about her."

Castiel looked Addy over; he met her defiant eyes with a serene gaze. "I apologize…Addy." He said with a nod.

"Are you really trying to keep up the pretence of normality Addy? You just healed me, normal people can't do that." Adam told his cousin.

"Well," Addy said in a defensive tone. "You're double jointed. Normal people can't pull their fingers back against their hand. You can though."

"I think that's a little different." Adam said in a slightly annoyed voice.

"Ok, so it's a _little_ different." Addy admitted with a shrug.

Dean reached out his hand to gently thunk Addy on the back of the head. He didn't want to hurt her; she was just irritating

"What the heck was that for?" She demanded, rubbing her head.

"A little different?" Dean asked rolling his eyes at her, Addy rolled hers right back.

"What I don't get," Sam began, shifting his feet slightly to bet a better look at Addy. "Is why you didn't just heal yourself while you were recovering from the car accident?"

Addy shook her head slightly. "No, I don't know much about my 'gift'; but, I do know it doesn't work like that." She told Sam, making sure she looked him in the eye. "My powers, my 'gifts' or whatever they are, aren't meant for me. They're meant to help other people. First of all, I have basically no control over any of them except for the whole 'seeing ghosts' thing. So that makes it hard to actually use them. Second of all, I can't use them on myself. At all."

"So what?" Adam asked. "You can heal everyone else, but you can't heal yourself?"

"Probably… Except I don't know to control it. I've only done it a couple of times before, each time as a freak adrenaline punch type thingy."

"And you haven't thought of practicing control?" Sam asked.

"Nooo." Addy said giving him a look that implied that the reason she hadn't should have been obvious. "I have no idea where these powers come from in the first place. Not to mention I just passed out from healing a concussion. There's no telling what other injuries will do to me. The other times I healed people I was out of commission for weeks. My body can't handle my powers; the repercussions aren't worth trying to get control over the healing."

"Good. Let's keep it that way Kid." Dean said. He didn't want Addy to explore her strange powers. What if they were demonic? He couldn't risk having another demon blood infected family member.

"Cas wh-" Dean began, but when he turned around to talk to him the Angel was nowhere to be found. "I hate when he does that." Dean muttered.

"What are we doing now, Dean?" Adam asked his older brother.

Dean looked over the kid, taking her pale complexion and realized he didn't want her anywhere near a hunt in her current state.

"No Dean!" Addy protested, knowing exactly what he was thinking. "I'm fine. Absolutely, 100%, fine and dandy! Come on."

"You don't look it…" Adam muttered, earning him an angry look from his cousin.

"Dean, we've got to do this today. Alan's been waiting far too long; we've got to do this now."

Dean rubbed his forehead, not overly thrilled with her attitude. But she was right. A spirit, especially one of a kid, deserved to 'be at rest'… Or whatever the crap happened to people once they died.

"Fine. But you're taking a nap first. And after this you and I are going to have a serious talk about your attitude problem."

Addy didn't like the sound of that; she didn't like the sound of that one bit.

"Yes, Sir." She gulped. Of course Dean wasn't pleased with her attitude problem. If she had been dealing with her dad, Uncle John or Cody, they would have squashed her long ago… But to be completely fair if it had been any of them, Addy wouldn't have been stupid enough to do most of the things she'd done. She had been pushing Dean, testing him really, to see if he'd leave. And to see what she could get away with. Cody and Uncle John always accused her of pushing the limits. Usually it just took one of them putting their foot down. But lately, lately Addy just didn't _care_ anymore. She didn't care what anyone thought.

"Good. Get your ass in the room. Take an hour nap. Then we'll deal with the Ghost Kid.

Addy set the alarm clock on her cell phone for 55 minutes. That was about an hour, close enough. She grabbed her quilt and curled up on the bed; she was tired enough that she dropped right off and didn't wake up until her phone binged.

"Come on, come on." Addy sat up and looked over at where Sam, Adam, and Dean were playing a quiet game of cards. "Come on, lets go."

Dean rolled his eyes at her impatience. He'd been surprised she didn't fight at being forced to take a nap. He was expecting a line of lip; something like 'But, I'm not five.'

"Ok, let's go." Dean told Addy with a sigh.

"Do you even know what we need to do now Dean?" Addy asked with a smile as they all piled into the car.

"Yeah, we need to… Do something you told me but I can't remember."

Addy laughed slightly before opening her mouth and saying "I just need to talk to Alan and ask him a couple of questions before we can do the ritual. Do you guys have candles and chalk in the trunk?"

"Yeah." Sam told her. "Is that all you need?"

"That and a personal item, but we can get that at his house. Haven't you guys done a summoning before?"

"Not one that you just need candles and chalk for." Sam admitted. "We usually just salt and burn 'em"

"So I've heard." Addy trailed off before muttering under her breath "Freakin' pyros…"

Sam began to laugh, doing his best to turn it into a cough when Dean began to glare angrily at him.

"Alright Kid," Dean began. "If you don't salt 'em and burn 'em, how do _you_ deal with spirits?"

"I _talk_ to them." She explained in a voice that one would normally use on a small child. "I use words, to explain what's going on. You know, talk to them like a normal person."

"Ok smart ass. What do you do when you're dealing with a vengeful spirit that won't listen to reason?"

"Then I make a fifteen foot wide circle of salt around their grave, so they can't get through, and dig up the grave. That usually doesn't happen though. Normally I can calm them down enough to talk to me. They don't usually know how to respond when they figure out you can touch 'em."

Silence broke out in the car, as the men thought about the different technique, before Adam spoke "You make a salt ring around the grave? Does that work?"

"Yeah, I mean it's not like they can get through it. It makes it a crap load easier because then you don't time restrictions. We used to do it the old fashioned way. You know? Just dig the grave and pray to God the ghost wouldn't notice. But after Riley got attacked and ended up suffering from rather serious amnesia, we decided that _probably_ wasn't the best idea anymore."

"Why didn't you guys think of that?" Adam asked with an amused smile. "The salt ring thing."

There was a momentary silence as Sam and Dean exchanged a look. Sam had no idea why he hadn't thought of that. "Because salt rings are kinda conspicuous." He finally decided.

"They are." Addy ensured Adam. "Luckily I have, had, a witch who got rid of them for me."

"Alright, we're here." Dean said as he pulled the Impala to the side of the road. "Let's try it your way. We'll go 'talk' to the Ghost Kid."

"…I think I should probably take lead on this one Dean."Addy told him with a small smile as they got out of the car.

"You're only twelve-"

"Fifteen Dean." Sam corrected.

"Fine, fifteen. You're not old enough to take lead."

Addy rolled her eyes, she wasn't about to tell Dean that she had lead plenty of hunts in her 'twelve' years. "That's the point Dean. You guys are too old, he won't trust you."

But Dean wouldn't have it. "We'll stay back while you talk to him, but you follow my lead. Got it?"

She bit her lip apprehensively but knew that was the best deal she was going to get. "Uh huh, I got it."

Dean made his way to the car, pulling out two shot guns (undoubtedly filled with rock salt bullets) and handed one to Sam.

"I don't get one?" Adam asked in annoyance.

"Sorry Adam, there's an experience requirement you don't meet." Sam said with a smile.

"What about Addy?" He pointed out.

Dean and Sam looked at Addy who just rolled her eyes. "You don't need the shotguns. He's only four."

"Since when has age had anything to do with how capable a person is?" Dean couldn't help but say with a smile. The Kid had told him the exact same thing a week ago when he had caught her outside after her four a.m, run.

Addy didn't bother responding, instead she just began to make her way into the cemetery.

"Wait, Kid." Dean called out, causing Addy to pause and turn around. "Anything gets weird or goes wrong you get your ass out of the line of fire so Sam and I can take the shot, alright?"

"Dean, it'l-"

"I mean it Kid." He warned. "Do you understand?"

"Yessir." She said giving Dean a mock solute before doing an about face and skipping off towards Alan's grave.

True to his word, Dean and his brothers stayed back a good twenty feet as she approached the head stone. Glancing behind her Addy noticed Sam and Dean tense, guns cocked and ready to shoot.

"Alan?" She called apprehensively. She was close enough for Alan to sense her, why hadn't he shown up already?

"Alan?" She called again, not liking the situation one bit. "Ala-"

She saw the white spectral form come at her right before it made contact with her body. The impact caused her to stumble five feet backward, but she didn't let herself fall.

"Kid!" Dean yelled, raising the shot gun in preparation to shoot. That was the last thing Addy wanted. That would most definitely piss Alan off.

"No!" She warned "I can handle it."

The form made to attack her again, but this time she was ready. Right before he made contact, Addy grabbed the young, angry child and hugged him close to her chest.

Alan thrashed against her iron tight hold, hitting his small fists against her stomach. He looked up at her, if he had been alive Addy knew he would have been crying.

"You promised. You promised I could go to a nice place soon. You lied!" He told Addy, his hits become more intense. They didn't really hurt, but every time he made contact it felt like a little part of Addy died. "You lied! I hate you!"

"I know." She told the young boy, kneeling down to look him in the eyes. She held his shoulder in what she hoped would be a comforting manner to Alan. "I know I told you it would be soon. I'm so sorry." Addy bit her lip so hard a small bead of blood tricked down her lip. "I got sick."

"I don't wanna to be here anymore!" He complained, stomping his feet in emphasis.

"Good." Addy told him, grabbing his hands now that he had stopped hitting her. "Because I'm going to make sure you can go to that special place we talked about. But first I need your help with something."

"Whut?"

"Is your Daddy home right now?" Addy asked him, hoping he actually knew his dad's home schedule.

"Uh huh." He nodded.

Good, that made the situation a lot easier. "Where do you live Alan?"

"654 Blackwoods Lane." He said with a satisfied nod; there was a sense of pride in his words.

"Good job for knowing your address." Addy smiled lovingly at him. He might be a ghost; but, he was a little boy who needed to know that people cherished him. "Because I'm going to go to your house and talk to him and I'm going to do something that makes it so you can go home for a little while. Can you do me a favor?"

"Wha?" He asked anxiously.

"When you go home, can you ask your daddy to tell the truth?"

"About what?" He looked at Addy with wide eyes.

"You know what?" Addy told him with a smile. "That doesn't matter, but I promise that if you do that, things will get better. Okay?"

"Okay." Alan agreed with a slight nod.

"I'm going to go now, but I'll see you at your house soon. Ok?"

He looked kind of worried about Addy leaving; but, Alan gave her a big hug before waving as Addy started walking back to the Winchesters and the car.

"What was that about?" Adam asked Addy.

She looked her cousin's over. They were regarding her in a mixture of frustration, worry, and admiration. Dean, in particular, looked uncomfortable, if not a little angry, with what had just transpired. Addy couldn't blame him. It wasn't like talking to ghosts was a natural normal event for hunters or anyone. Still, she wished he would stop staring at her like she was about to just come out and attack him at any moment.

"He was scared." Addy sighed. "I told him I'd help him then I didn't show up for a week. His reaction was understandable and justified."

"I thought you knew how to handle ghosts." Sam commented with a smile as they headed toward the Impala.

"I do." Addy protested. "I'm just kinda out of it right now."

It was true, the whole 'healing episode' had left her tired and just plain out of it.

"I'll say!" Dean snapped. "I told you to drop if anything went south Kid! Did you? No, no you didn't!"

"Really Dean?" Addy whispered. "Do we have to do this now? I handled it, I dealt with it, and everything turned out fine."

"You disobeyed a direct order! What if it hadn't gone right?" He waved his hands around in the air brandishing the shotgun. "What if you had gotten hurt?"

"Then I probably would have actually had to try and hurt the ghost." Addy pointed out. "You know, considering it takes way more energy to stop a pissed off spirit then it does to stop a scared one."

"I thought we talked about you being such a smart ass."

"And I thought you were waiting to let me have it until after the hunt."

Sam watched the interaction between his older brother and his cousin. Both looked like they were about to explode and, as the mediator, Sam was preparing himself to step in between the two of them in case it got things bad.

"Oh, we're going to discuss it alright." Dean assured Addy, shoving the shotguns back into the trunk before getting into the car.

"You won't freakin' sit straight for a week when I'm through with you." He muttered as Addy slammed her door.

Addy flashed Adam a worried look before Sam cleared his throat in an attempt to stop Dean's angry ranting. "Where are we going Addy?"

"Six-hundred fifty-four Blackwoods Lane." Addy responded as Dean pulled away.

It took Dean all of ten minutes to find the small, rundown house that had been Alan's home while he was alive. The parked a little ways down the street, far enough away to be inconspicuous (or how ever inconspicuous a person could be in a '67 Impala); but, close enough to have a full view of the house. The place was a dump, complete with peeling paint and broken storm windows.

"People actually live here?" Adam muttered as Addy and he got out of the car to join Dean and Sam who were rummaging through the trunk.

"Home is where the heart is." Dean muttered as he gathered a bag of what Addy had told him she needed for the ritual. "Here."

Addy took the bag that was offered to her and slung it over her shoulder.

"Alright, Sam's going to knock on the door and keep Father-of-the-Year distracted while Addy and I break into the upstairs and perform the stupid ritual. Adam, you need to call the cops in exactly twelve minutes, got it?"

He waited until his younger brother nodded before he turned his attention back to the three of them. "Any questions?"

"Should we synchronize our watches?" Addy couldn't help but ask snarkily, even if it did earn her a head slap from Adam.

"Let's get this over with; I want this bastard in jail." Dean mumbled before he started walking over the side of the house were the drain pipe was attached.

"I couldn't agree more." Addy said to herself as she followed Dean.

They waited until Sam had somehow managed to engage Alan's father, a middle age balding man with a beer belly, in conversation before scurrying up the drain pipe and walking across the over roof that hung over the porch to a closed window.

"How fast can you get that open?" Dean asked.

Addy just smiled. "How fast can you get out of my way?"

Dean nodded his head in understanding; Addy got out her knife to unlock the window, but saw that it wasn't even locked. With a roll of her eyes at the idiocy of some people she slid the sash up and gave Dean a grin before she pulled herself through the window frame. Dean followed Addy through the maze of rooms until they found what appeared to be a child's bedroom.

"Think this is his?" Dean asked, looking around the bare bedroom. Where most children would have rooms piled high with various toys and loved objects, this room simply contained a mattress with a blanket, a pillow and a worn out teddy bear on top of it.

"Yeah," Addy whispered doing her best to ignore the sick feeling in her stomach. "I think this is it."

"Let's get to work." Dean said, gesturing for Addy to do whatever the crap she was doing.

Addy nodded before unzipping the duffle and pulling out chalk, five candles and matches. She handed Dean the candles and matches.

"What am I doing with these?" He asked.

"Holding them till I need them." Addy explained as she began to draw a large pentagram enclosed in a circle. She grabbed the teddy bear off of the makeshift bed before placing it in the middle of the circle.

Dean handed her the candles wordlessly and watched as his cousin placed each of the candles on a point of the star before lighting them.

"What now?" Dean asked.

"I hope to God you don't kill me for this…" Addy responded before pulling out her knife and slicing open her wrist.

Dean stood there in slight shock. Had she really just done that? "What the hell are you doing?" He fumed.

Addy didn't say anything; instead she just grabbed her bloody wrist with her hand before slapping it down on the center of the circle. She barely got out the short Latin incantation before Dean crossed the room, grabbed the worn bed sheet, ripped it into strips, and grabbed Addy's wrist to wrap it up.

"What the hell are you thinking Kid?" Dean asked in a hushed voice. The makeshift bandages were already soaking through. He grabbed another strip of blanket and tied it around the cut.

"I was thinking that I needed a lot of blood to perform the ritual."

Dean wanted to kill her, slap some sense into her, lock her in a freakin' closet… He didn't know, he wanted to do something but he wasn't sure what.

"Yeah, well, congratulations. You're officially on my suicide watch list." He told her, putting pressure on the wound to stop the relentless bleeding.

Addy stared at him blankly before opening her mouth "Yeah, well, congratulations." Addy yelled completely forgetting the need to be quiet. "You're officially a frigging idiot."

Dean knew she wasn't suicidal, he knew that just because someone cut their self didn't mean they wanted to die. He also knew that he couldn't stand to see Addy hurt herself, and if he had to watch 24-7 to make sure she didn't get herself hurt anymore then he'd do it.

"Why am I here?" She heard Alan's small voice ask. She turned around to see the young boy standing in the middle of the circle, hugging his teddy bear.

"Hey Honey." Addy said, trying to pull her wrist out of Dean's hand so she could walk over to the boy, but he wouldn't let go.

"Dean." She protested in a whisper.

The man just shook his head and tightened his hold. "Whatever you have to say to him, you can say it right here."

She flashed Dean a pleading look but he was relentless and Addy knew she had majorly screwed up. But she also knew the ritual wouldn't have worked if anyone else had given their blood, she also knew that the blood had to be fresh and from a major artery. Red tape, it'll kill ya.

Alan ran over to Addy hugged her around the legs. "Do you need me to go talk to Daddy now?"

He was scared and Addy couldn't blame him. Seeing his father, after everything that had happened to him… It was a lot to ask of such a small child.

"Yes, Alan." Addy said, rubbing the small boy's hair. "You need you go see your Dad. You don't need to talk to him, you don't need to touch him, and that's all. After that you can leave."

"And go to heaven?" He asked.

Addy let off a small, sad smile. "I don't know." She honestly told the boy. "I think you will, but even I don't know what happens after this life. But I do know one thing. No matter what happens, you'll be in a much better place."

Alan nodded "Promise?"

"I pinky promise." Addy told him, offering her free pinky.

The little boy stuck out his pinky and as soon as he made contact with Addy's skin, he disappeared. A few seconds she and Dean heard the exclamation of "What the hell? You're dead!" from a person that could only be the boy's father.

Dean didn't let her wait around to hear what would happen next. He walked around the room, dragging Addy around with him as he wiped up the pentagram and blood using the bed sheet. After most of the crap was off the floor he shoved the sheet into the duffle along with the candles and chalk.

"Let's go." He grunted before leading Addy back through the window, across the porch, back down the drain pipe and down the street to the Impala. He shoved the duffle in the trunk before slamming it shut and turning to face Adam.

"What the hell did Addy do this time?"Adam asked, noticing Dean's hard gaze and the iron tight grip he had on Addy's wrist.

Dean ignored the question. "Did you call the cops?"

"Yeah," Adam was itching to ask more questions but, judging from Dean's expression it wasn't the time to ask. "They'll be here in a minute."

Sam walked over to the car in a huff. "Way to not draw attentions to yourselves guys. I heard your crap all the way outside. Christ, Adam could probably hear you two. Lucky for you guys that guy was too damn drunk to stand up straight, let alone hear something happening upstairs. What were you two doing?"

One look from Dean and Sam realized this wasn't the time or place. Dean looked at Addy with a scary calm expression on his face. "Get in the car." He told her, shoving her slightly towards the door. Addy obeyed, and Dean slammed the door shut behind her.

As soon as the door closed Dean turned to his brothers and started speaking. Though she couldn't hear what he was saying, Addy watched as Sam's expression slowly shifted from slightly pissed to downright angry.

Dean angry was one thing; Sam on the other hand…

Addy heard the approach of the police cars right before the Winchester boys piled into the car, each giving Addy a look that contained their own mixture of disappointment and anger.

She had gone too far this time. She should have been completely honest about what the ritual needed from the start. But that's the thing; she knew they wouldn't have let her do it if they knew. She didn't get the big deal, it was only blood. The idea that it wasn't about the blood, it was about her trusting them and them being able to trust her, didn't even occur to Addy.

They all watched as a uniformed police officer knocked on the door to Alan's house, wide-eyed Addy watched as his dad opened the door and Alan's father grabbed the officer's uniform in his hand, sobbing something inaudible to the Impala's occupants. But most importantly she watched as the little white figure behind the door frame slowly disappeared, giving Addy a small wave right before he vanished completely.

The Impala pulled away from the curb and started in the opposite direction of the motel. The drove out to a deserted road before Dean pulled off and cut the engine. He pulled out the keys and started twirling them around in his hand before getting out of the car, motioning for Addy to follow suit.

They were in the middle of nowhere, no people around and more importantly no place to go.

"What are we doing here?" Addy asked right before a pissed off angry Dean turned around to face her.

She heard two more doors open and shut right before she found herself surrounded by three very angry looking Winchesters.

"We're talking." Dean told her, and Addy knew there was no getting out of this one.


	11. When Darkness Calls You Home

**I'd like to thank Hicks07 for being amazing and, once again, editing my chapter for me.  
**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own Supernatural**

* * *

I stood by the Impala waiting for the grand discussion to start. This was it, the end. Fuck; why couldn't I just be effing normal and actually trust people. Why couldn't I just have sat down and explained to the Winchesters where exactly my trust issues originated from. Why couldn't I have just explained to them that my trust issues started when I was only three years old when, Canley, my older sister, promised she'd never leave. A promise she broke only two months later when she left for college and didn't talk to us again until seven years later.

Growing up there were always little things. All the times my father promising to be at my school stuff but never showed. Cody never trusting _me _enough to either keep me in the hunting loop or to take care of myself.

But there were also the more serious times, the ones that left me with scars that were so deep I doubt I'll ever get completely over them. Like the time when my father's brother (I won't call him my uncle) tried to kill me. Or the time where my father gave me a kiss and a hug, telling me the words "I love you so much Addy. I promise I'll see you in the morning", only I never saw him again.

Though I certainly did have good memories of my time at Lexington's Academy, for every reasonably decent, happy memory there seems to be an equally awful one. Like the fact that my first real boyfriend was murdered. Ryan was an awesome guy; he didn't deserve what happened to him. He loved Rocky Road ice cream and was always willing to sneak out after curfew to help me and Riley find some.

So how do I deal with my trust issues? I'm cruel, I'm evasive and I'm sarcastic. Because if I keep you at arms distance long enough; then when you do eventually leave it isn't a surprise. It's expected and it's on my terms.

But the Winchesters. _God_, the Winchesters. They gave _me_ a run for my money when it came to stubbornness. I had done my best to make them hate me, to make them ditch me on the side of the road and never look back. But no matter what I did, no matter how rude, disrespectful or out of control I was, they never told me to leave. They just made me feel loved and appreciated. And it sucked. I felt like a jerk for acting the way I had towards them. Though I will never admit it, even to myself, I liked being with them. A lot, at least much more than I should have after knowing them for only about three weeks.

What scared me the most, was the fact that I was so close to adding three more people onto my list of 'people who won't screw you over when you least expect it'.

I had seen this little 'confrontation' coming from the start. Uncle John would _never _have allowed me to get away with the crap I had been dishing out. Why had I been stupid enough to think his sons would be any different?

"This doesn't _look_ like talking," The sarcastic words were out of my mouth before I could stop myself. "This looks like a freakin' interrogation."

Dean took a deep breath and attempted to calm down before getting a 'screw that' look on his face and opening his mouth to fume "What the hell do you expect? What you're doing to yourself… It's not healthy. The lying, the crap excuses..."

I opened my mouth to protest but he didn't let me.

"Yes I _know_, 'you didn't lie to us, you just didn't tell us everything'. But guess what Kid! It's the _same thing._"

"What do you want me to say to you?" I asked in desperation. "I don't know what you want from me!"

"How about some trust?" Sam suggested "Or how about you drop the constant antagonistic attitude?"

"It's not my intention to be antagonistic. You gotta understand trust doesn't come easily for me." I pleaded.

Dean ran his hand through his hair. His eyes held no trace of sympathy or understanding. "I get it. You have trust issues. But we're _family_"

"I know Dean. I'm trying; I'm really, _really_ trying."

"Is this trying?" He asked, grabbing my wrist and shaking it in front of my face. "What about the sarcasm or the way you keep avoiding our questions? Is that trying?"

"What questions do you have Dean?" I asked, arms open "I'd be more than happy to answer them."

"Really?" he asked an angry smile on his face "Because you were so open when I asked you about your powers?"

"That's different." I fumed. I knew my attitude wasn't helping any. But I felt that I was up against a wall and well I felt fucking defensive.

"How is that different Adds?" Adam added his expression mirroring Dean and Sam's serious ones.

"Because I can't tell you about that." I tried to explain for what felt like the hundredth time.

"Do you not know yourself?" Sam asked with a sigh.

"I have a pretty good idea." I admitted.

"Then what is it?" Dean demanded.

I shut my eyes in a desperate attempt to keep my cool. I had _told_ them I couldn't tell before. Apparently they hadn't gotten the message. I opened my eyes and desperately looked at Dean. "I can't tell you."

"Not the answer I'm looking for Kid." Dean was losing his already strained cool. "We're not anywhere till you tell me something, so I suggest you start talking."

"You don't get it Dean!" I yelled. "I'm not doing this to be a jackass. When I say 'I can't tell you', it's because I literally can't fucking tell you."

"Why? You afraid your ego will get bruised?" I've never wanted to punch someone as much as I wanted to punch Dean at this very moment. He didn't get it. But could I really expect him to?

"Just fucking forget it." I told him shaking my head and refusing to meet his eyes.

"I've had it up to here," Dean motioned with his hand, an indication of just how much he had actually put up with "With your crap little girl. Any more attitude and I swear I'll-"

"What?" I asked I wasn't even aware of the look of sadness and desperation on my face "Yell at me? Beat me? Leave me to fend for myself?"

I rounded on Dean. "Don't you get it? That's what I want! I want you to leave me alone. I want you to forget about me. It'll be better for everyone if I do that."

"Better for us, or better for you?" Sam asked his eyes hard and emotionless.

"Me, you, I don't know. I don't care. I can't take it anymore, this close Cleaver family bonding crap."

"Well too bad. You're stuck with us. We're not going anywhere and neither are you." Dean told me with an angry look on his face. I felt like I couldn't breathe; the walls were closing in. So I did what I always did when I couldn't handle a situation.

I started running.

I pushed past Adam, the most inexperienced of the three Winchesters, and started running towards the forest that was on the other side of the field. If I could just get to it I knew the chances of one of the Winchesters catching me would be a hell of a lot smaller.

It took all of one hundred feet for someone to tackle me.

"Leggo of me!" I screamed as Dean forced me on my back.

"I said, _let go of me._" I repeated through gritted teeth, struggling against Dean as he pinched my wrists in one of his hands. I saw the blank look in his face as he stared down at me. His eyes held murderous intentions and I knew running had been the worst possible thing I could do. I was a good runner; but I was into endurance not speed, and I was out of shape. There was no doubt in my mind that I could outrun Dean. But he'd caught me in a sprint I'd been saving my energy with the anticipation of making more than one hundred feet.

I was reminded of that time four weeks ago where I had managed to run away from him and escape through a side alley. This seemed like karma's way of getting back at me for out running him and kicking him in the stomach. Karma was a bitch!

I lashed out with my feet, trying to make him let go. "Please." I begged.

Dean didn't answer as he pulled me into his chest tucking my head into his shoulder, letting me struggle and scream as he held me tighter with each word I yelled out.

"Please, please just let me go." I continued to struggle but his grip was like iron. I knew I didn't stand a change of escaping but I couldn't help it as I struggled even harder against him.

"Please, Please, Please," I continued to beg as I fought against him.

"What aren't you telling us Kid?" Dean asked me as I began sobbing.

"Nothin'." I yelled as tears began to drip out of my eyes.

"If it's nothing then why are you trying to run?" Dean demanded.

"Nothing!" I screamed this time. Tears of anger, frustration, sadness, grief, and every other emotion I'd ever felt ran down my face.

I lashed out, like some desperate animal caught in a trap. My fingernails clawed at Dean's flesh, drawing blood as my legs kicked out defensively. But he still didn't let me go.

Dean could tell I was tiring, this time when he spoke his voice was softer. It was a croon, a voice that a parent uses to comfort an overwrought toddler "Come on. Tell me what's wrong. Talk to me."

"Nothing." I whispered again, this time I couldn't even believe it.

He started rocking back and forth, comforting me even as I continued to fight.

I couldn't fathom how he could still care, after all I'd done. How he was still willing to protect me, even from myself.

"Please." Dean spoke so softly I wasn't even sure if I had heard him correctly. But either way, that's all it took for me to drop the protective barriers that were shielding me.

"I'm scared." I sobbed brokenly into his shoulder "I'm so, so scared."

Dean was silent for a long time. I'm not sure how long passed, minutes, seconds, hours. He just kept holding me, rocking me, comforting me; with each passing second my struggling lessened Dean waited until I had calmed almost completely before he spoke.

"What are you afraid of?" The words were soft and sympathetic; the tone of a father; not a Hallmark moment hating cousin. I buried my head deeper into Dean's shoulder before I started mumbling into the damp flannel.

"Of what's going to happen. The demon's interest in me. The angels' appearing. My powers; not being in control. Of why I never knew about you before. Of you, Sam, and Adam. You all deciding you don't want me. My brother not wanting me."The words spilled out of my mouth before I could stop them. "I can't be scared."

"Why can't you be scared?"

I looked up at his green eyes; they were the same shade as my own. "Fear creates distractions. Distractions get people hurt, they get people killed. I can't let that happen again."

Dean looked down at me, a whirlwind of emotion infused into his features. "Who died?"

"No one." I whispered, looking away and trying to get away from him again.

He didn't let me; instead he wrapped his free arm around my legs, halting any farther escape attempts.

"Really?" He asked "Is that why you're in so much pain right now? Is that why you held everything in until you had a complete breakdown?"

"Not a breakdown." I tried to convince him; burying my face back in his shirt.

"That's exactly what this is." He continued rocking me. I would never admit it to him, but it was soothing and comforting. "Shhh… calm down, tell me what happened."

"He was so sweet; I really liked him. We'd had been dating for about 3 months, Ryan even knew I was a hunter. One night we were walking home from the movies. It was just the three of us; Riley, Ryan, and me. I'm not sure why it happened. He came outta nowhere and I, I just froze. He stabbed Ryan. I didn't do-," A sob caught in my throat. "It was my fault. Ryan died; he _died_. Riley was next. But I couldn't let her get hurt. So I killed him before he killed her. He was human. I've killed evil things before, but never a human. Ryan's family didn't blame me; even though I was the one who introduced him hunting. It was my fault."

"It wasn't your fault. He made the decision to be there."

"It was my fault." Addy kept brokenly crying. "I miss him."

"Maybe you should let it out; emotions aren't always bad. They can help. Everyone freezes up at some point." Dean suggested.

"You've never froze up."

"Yeah, Kid. Yeah, I have."

If I freeze up people get killed. I can't do that. I can't get scared. There's no one there too back me up, no one there to help me."

"We're here now," Dean told me. "Sam, Adam, and I; we have your back."

"What happens when you don't want me anymore?" I asked.

"Ain't never gonna happen Kid." He insisted "Like I said, you're stuck with us."

"What are you going to do when I piss you off, or-"

He cut me off, not letting me finish. "Look Kid, you can use your little 'promise keeping' power on me, because I promise I'm never gonna not want ya around."

I had accidentally told the Winchester brothers about that power when I was hopped up on pain meds. Though they hadn't originally believed me I had decided to demonstrate it, something I most definitely wouldn't have done if I hadn't been high on meds. The Winchesters had understood the magnitude of the ability. I didn't even need to explain it, they just understood.

Dean had just told me to use my powers on him even though he knew the consequences. I didn't need to. Dean's simple statement that he'd be willing to sacrifice his free will to show me how much he cared was more than enough.

"Got it?"

I nodded in understanding as my sobs continued. My body was tired, my eyes were drooping, and just like that I fell asleep in Dean's arms.

**O~O~O~O~O~O~O**

"Addy," Sam called over to Addy "Did you finish your homework?"

"Sir, yes sir!" she said cheekily, giving him a mock solute. It had been five days since 'The Breakdown' as the incident was titled, it even got air quotes. Getting that stuff out into the open had really helped. Everything wasn't peaches and cream yet; but, it was getting there. The day after 'The Breakdown,' Dean had laid out a bunch of stuff, consequences to Addy for her crappy behavior. She didn't actually mind too much; because she realized how horrid been to all of them. Of course last night when she was doing everyone's laundry it totally sucked.

Sam, much to Addy's annoyance, had suggested to Dean that she should go back to school. Addy hadn't whined much; it only required three glares from Dean, two beleaguered sighs from Sam, and Adam moaning once before she acquiesced. She did realize that school had advantages: Getting out of the motel room without a chaperone, and getting to see Kyle.

That was a tidbit of info that Addy wasn't going to mention to them. Kyle. Addy thought that if she brought him up they'd probably abandon the werewolf hunt and move just to keep her from seeing him. Ok, probably not; but, it wouldn't be pretty. She also didn't mention that that they'd been texting him pretty much nonstop since the encounter at the park. They all thought Addy was texting Riley. It surprised her that she was still allowed a phone (well, except when she was at school); Cody would have confiscated it long ago.

Of course missing a week of school meant crap loads of makeup work, which Addy managed to finish over the weekend. She had something that she needed to do, okay, something she _really_ wanted to do. But considering how far she was in the dog house already, her chances of getting a 'yes' were virtually nonexistent; especially with all the make-up work.

Addy looked at Dean and calculated her chances of getting a 'yes' from Dean… Nope, that was a zero; actually it was probably a negative. Sam on the other hand… that had a solid maybe of a possible yes.

"Sam," Addy called in the calmest voice she could muster "Can I go to the park for a little while?"

"I guess so." Sam said shrugging his shoulders. "Why?"

"Kyle has a soccer game and he asked me if I wanted to go." Addy was trying her hardest not to blush. All the while, cursing her red hair.

"_Hell _no." Dean snapped "Remember? You're grounded."

"I'm just going to watch him play. There are going to be plenty of other people there. That's not a date Dean."

Dean looked like he was about to open his mouth, only to be cut off by Sam who was giving him a look that said 'cut her a little slack' "If Adam agrees to go with you; you can go."

Adam, who until that point had been completely oblivious to the conversation, looked up "What about me?"

Addy smiled cheerfully "We were just talking about how you're so amazing because you're totally willing to take me to the park."

"I don't remember telling you I'd take you to the park…" He said with a slight smile.

"You didn't, but you should anyway." Addy gave him her best puppy-dog eyes.

He looked back and forth in between his two brothers. Sam looked perfectly ok with whatever answer Adam was going to offer. Dean, on the other hand, was glaring at Sam. It wasn't a hard glare, just an 'I don't quite agree with you; but, I'll go along with your opinion' glare.

"Why do you want to go to the park?"

"Kyle has a soccer game, I wanna go watch."

Dean mimicked Addy's puppy dog eyes; his attempt looked like cow eyes. "Sam does them better."

Adam sighed slightly. "Fine, I'll take you."

Though he would never admit it Adam was feeling slightly guilty for dragging Addy from Kyle. He did seem like a nice kid.

Dean sighed deeply as Adam and Addy made their way to the door "Be back in an hour. And Kid?"

"Yeah?" Addy asked.

"I know you're not thinking of leaving the room without a jacket." He told her.

"I would _never_ do that Dean!" Addy insisted as she walked over to her backpack and pulled out her fleece.

"Yeah, ok. Watch out for each other." Dean warned as he watched the two teens shrug into jackets.

"We will." Adam ensured him before shutting the door.

They chatted nonchalantly for the remainder of the three minute walk, arriving at the game just as it started its fourth quarter. Addy knew she wasn't going to be able to see much of it because of the stupid make-up work, she had even told Kyle that. But still, better late than never, right?

Kyle ran out onto the field and watched Addy giving him a tiny wave; even from here he could see her blushing. He noticed and gave her an over-exaggerated wave and a huge smile. 'It looked like her Neanderthal cousin was with her again. Adam, that was his name, right? ' Kyle thought to himself. 'It was pretty cool she got to come watch; even if it was only for a little while.' Her cousins must be real jerks; they never let her do anything alone.

"You must be the girl my brother can't stop talking about." Addy turned to her right, noticing for the first time the brunette who was smiling at her. Politely she stuck out her hand. "I'm Stephanie, Kyle's older sister."

"I'm Addy." She said, shaking Stephanie's hand briefly. "It's nice to finally meet the sister Kyle always mentions."

"God, I hope he hasn't told you anything bad!" She said with a smile, but for some reason it was oddly menacing. Addy couldn't shake the feeling in her chest that there was something wrong about Stephanie. Not a false kindness, but almost as if an inhuman presence had manifested itself in her. Not a possession, it was part of her. It was the same feeling Addy had when she'd met Kyle's friend Nate. It was so nice to talk to a girl again; Addy pushed the feeling away, and ignored it.

Adam nudged Addy with his elbow; she hadn't realized she was spacing out. "No," Addy said with a smile "You don't need to worry about that. He hasn't said anything bad, I promise."

"Well that's a relief!" Stephanie smiled "So what grade are you in Addy?"

"I'm a sophomore. What about you?"

"Senior, I just turned eighteen actually." She seemed so nice. But Addy was getting this awful vibe from her. If Riley had been describing it, she would have said that Stephanie had a dark aura.

Adam watched Addy and Stephanie introduce themselves and couldn't help but think that Stephanie had a really nice ass and a great set of legs. Not that he would ever say that out loud. She reminded him a little of Katie, a girl he'd been kind of seeing at school; similar legs.

"Hi, I'm Adam." He said, putting in his most flirtatious smile that reminded Addy all too much of Dean. "Are you ok?"

Stephanie looked slightly confused for a second before answering "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

Adam, flaunting his best Winchester smile oh so smoothly responded "Because heaven is a long fall from here."

Addy couldn't help but snort at the use of such an incredibly cheesy line. Adam shot her a look before Stephanie let of her own laugh. Addy just shrugged her shoulders and rolled her eyes at him.

"Sorry," She told Adam with an apologetic smile "I have a boyfriend and he's actually on the team so..."

He clicked his tongue in disappointment before sighing "Lucky guy."

By this point Addy couldn't hold it in any more and busted out in giggles. God, how pathetic can she possibly be?

"Are you giggling?" Adam asked in surprise. "Are you acting girly?""Oh shut up!" Addy snarked at him, punching his arm almost to the point of pain. Adam waited till Addy was distracted by Kyle before mouthing 'ouch at Stephanie.

"I like you." Stephanie grinned at Addy. "You don't take crap from anyone, do you?"

"I guess not."

"Good for you. So where'd you meet my brother?" She asked curiously.

Adam exchanged a look with Addy; this time it was his turn to laugh.

"He… Uhhh… Ummm… Kinda hit me with a car…" she confessed.

Stephanie got a surprised look on her face "No shit! You're the girl he hit?"

Addy nodded yes, red creeping up her cheeks. God, why couldn't she have been anything but a redhead. The whole redhead, pale skin, and the blushing whenever totally fricking sucked!

"Well at least he knows how to make a grand entrance. I _told_ mom not to let him take the car. But nooooo…. Well, I'm glad to see you're alright."

Addy laughed and the threesome continued to talk as the game ended. She was funny and sarcastic with the right amount of sympathy and understanding when she spoke. It was so nice talking to a girl again. Texting with Riley just wasn't the same as actually having a girl around.

"So, how'd you like the game?" Kyle asked as Nate and he approached. Nate embraced Stephanie in a hug and a kiss before turning to face Kyle.

Nate was her boyfriend… The connection between them made Addy feel uneasy and she was once again reminded of what Uncle John would always tell her when she was younger.

'_There's no such thing as coincidences, Addy.'_

Whatever strange force that connected Stephanie and Nate was, She'd find it. She promised herself she'd find it.

"I thought you guys were a bunch of slackers. Your defense was asleep and you, Mr. Center Forward, weren't much better." Stephanie told her little brother as she hung off Nate's arm.

"Hey!" Kyle protested. "We won, didn't we?"

"Well I think you did fine." Addy told Kyle with a smile. He walked over to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder before turning to face his sister and best friend.

"See? Addy thinks we played fine!" Kyle told his sister triumphantly.

"Do you even know anything about soccer?" Nate asked her suspiciously.

"Yes actually." Addy told him proudly. "I was a varsity starter of the girl's soccer team at my old high school."

Nate looked impressed, "Really? Were you guys any good?"

"We won the state championship for our league." Addy admitted with a shy smile.

"Good for you." Nate said with a nod. But the way he said it, it was sarcastically and emotionally cold. Addy didn't like him. Addy didn't like him at all.

"Athletic and beautiful," Kyle told me, glaring at Nate. "Have anything else up your sleeve?"

"I can think of a couple of things." Addy told him.

"Care to share?" He asked with a laugh.

As usual Addy didn't get the chance to respond. The frigging Winchester over protectiveness gene kicked into overdrive.

"Actually we need to get going." Adam told Kyle with a look that dared him to argue.

"We still have ten minutes before the time Dean told us to get back." Addy protested. Adam looked at her and she could practically read his mind.

'_Do you want me to throw you over my shoulders and drag you back again? 'Cause I totally will.'_

"It's fine." Kyle told Addy, squeezing her shoulder affectionately. "I'll see you tomorrow."

He kissed her, laying a kiss on her lips before whispering in her ear. "Text me later when you get the chance."

Addy nodded slightly right before Adam cleared his throat, a signal for her to get her ass back to the hotel room.

"See you later." She told Kyle with a smile.

"It was nice to meet you!" Stephanie called after Addy as she followed Adam.

Addy waved at Stephanie, Nate and Kyle before turning back to Adam. At first he didn't speak, but when he did it wasn't what she expected him to say.

"So, uh… Kyle seems pretty nice."

"He is." She admitted, unable to keep a stupid grin off her face.

"You guys have any classes together?"

"Yeah, two of them. English and History."

A slightly awkward silence erupted between the two of them. They walked for a minute or two in silence before Adam opened his mouth and asked "So have you two made out yet?"

"Adam!" Addy protested mouth wide open in shock. That was not something she was expecting from the 'nice Winchester.'

"What?" He couldn't even understand what was wrong with his question.

"You don't just go asking people questions like that!"

He contemplated what she had said for a second "So that's a yes."

"No." She admitted. "We haven't made out... yet."

"Good." He told her as they approached the motel room "'Cause it would seriously suck if I got blood all over my jacket because I had to beat that scrawny kid into a pulp for touching you."

"I can take care of myself dork." Addy told him as they walked into the room "I'm a big girl."

"How was the game?" Sam asked them. Dean and he were crowded around small table in the kitchenette, desperate to find any leads on the case. The lunar cycle was about to reach the point where werewolves would begin their involuntary change and they still had no idea who the werewolves could be. Even with the four of them working double time, it would be a miracle if they found out who the wolves were before someone was killed again.

Addy had done her best to try and convince them to let her help. But each time she had suggested it she had gotten a defiant 'No' from Dean. It was frigging annoying, she'd told him over and over and over again she was fine. And that she could help but he had told her that she couldn't help until she was done with physical therapy. The Winchester's had officially made her the water-boy, always the benchwarmer, never a player.

"It was good, they won." Addy told him, sliding into the seat next to Dean. Her face didn't even turn red as she spoke. She felt triumphant; on top of the world… Until Adam ruined it.

"Sure she liked it, loved it is more like it, considering she was making out with that kid after the game."

"You what?" Sam and Dean asked at the same time. One half of a barbershop quartet.

I rounded on Adam protesting loudly, a blush rising up my neck to my hairline. "I was not!" I protested and Adam just smiled slightly. Actually a smirk was more like it.

Maybe it was because Dean had pretty much raised Sam single handedly. Maybe it was because he was almost fifteen years older than Addy; maybe it was because Dean had pretty much been acting like a dad to her for the last month. Whatever it was, when Addy lunged across the table at Adam, Dean grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into his lap before she made it out of her seat. Life was totally unfair.

"Well that was unexpected." Addy muttered "How'd you know I was going to do that?"

"Because I know how teenagers think. I know how _you_ think and I know how to read body language enough to recognize when someone's about to attack." He told her before turning on Adam. "I also know enough to tell that you're lying."

"So," Dean said, doing his best to keep his face serious with a hint of anger in his voice even if his eyes were filled entirely with amusement. "No lying," He told Adam before turning to look down at Addy "And no attacking people out of anger. Got it?"

"Yes sir." They muttered; God it sucked being the youngest.

"Good." He said, allowing Addy to get up and sit back in her seat. "And Addy?"

"Yeah?" She said, knowing exactly what he was going to tell her.

"For your sake, let's just say I hope I never catch you sucking face. Got it?"

"Yes sir," She said rubbing her forehead with her hand. "I've got it."

"So are you guys going over the list of victims again?" Addy asked Sam.

"Yeah, but I can't make out the connections between all of them. Most werewolves travel in a pack and go after their victims based off of people they couldn't get back at normally, but… I can make a connection between six of the victims, but the other two…" He shook his head "Nothing. Three of the victims worked in the school district, two of them were teachers and one was guidance councilor. One of the teachers taught sixth grade, the other ninth grade science. The guidance councilor worked at the same school as the science teacher, the same school that three of the teenage male victims attended."

"We've got a connection between six of them, what about the other two?" Adam asked.

"They appear to be random. One of the victims was a nineteen year old high school dropout parolee; the other was a recovering alcoholic with a drug addict. Both victims were male." Sam dropped the left over files on to the table for emphasis.

"Did either victim attend either school the teachers or guidance councilor worked at?" Addy asked.

"Nope." Sam said with a sigh.

"Yeah, why make things easy for us…" Dean ran his hand through his hair. "Did you run a search of all the students the teachers might have shared?"

"Do you have any idea how many people that would be Dean?" Adam asked his older brother.

"Four thousand, seven hundred and sixteen people that just graduated with in the past decade and considering we have no idea what the age of the wolves are, it might range even farther back than that." Sam hated this stupid situation.

"Crap." Dean muttered. "So you're basically telling me that even though we have a lot, we don't have enough to hunt these sons of bitches down?"

Sam nodded once.

"Fan freakin' tastic." Dean snapped.

What ended up sucking the most was the fact that even though Addy ended up staying up till midnight to help them research; when Dean made her to go to bed they still hadn't found anything else.

The next morning Sam had still woke her up for school at the normal time, even though they'd been up late the night before. And even with Addy insisting that she could stay and help with the research Sam still told her she had to go. Even Kyle's welcoming embrace (and kiss) as she walked into school wasn't enough for her to shake the creepy feeling that Nate and Stephanie were letting off. Annoyingly enough it had gotten worse, she could feel them coming from down the hall.

The school day was a school day; a hopelessly boring and uneventful Monday. Homework was assigned, projects passed out and notes were taken; but for some reason Addy still couldn't get rid of the sick feeling she kept getting whenever Nate or Stephanie approached. It got so bad I had to leave when ever either came around.

School ended at three thirty and as soon as the bell rang Addy had her phone out and was dialing. Sam picked up on the second ring.

"Hey Addy, what's up?"

"Hey Sam. I have an English project I need to work on and to do that I need to go to the library. I know that I'm grounded and I'm not supposed to go anywhere without one of you guys but I was wonder if I could…"

"Go to the library without one of us being there?"

She nodded before realizing he couldn't see me "Yeah. Please. I know I'm grounded. But, this project requires book and journal citations; not just web citations. Please."

He didn't say anything for a minute, it felt like he was building the silence for anticipation and dramatic affect "_Yeah, but Addy? If one of us goes to check on you and you aren't there…"_

"That's not going to happen Sam." Addy pleaded "I promise."

"_Good. Be careful. Tonight's the first night of the cycle, so call when you want a ride home."_

"Yeah and I'll be careful, I promise. Thanks Sam."

"_No problem Kiddo. Talk to you later_."

"Yeah." Addy let the silence fill her head before shoving the phone into her pocket and heading toward the library.

It took Addy three and a half hours to completely finish the stupid English paper on Hamlet, drafting and editing included. When she finished Addy spread the victim's files around the table; she was failing epically at making any connections. It was like being six years old and trying a thousand piece jig-saw puzzle. Addy felt like she'd been there forever when she heard the sound of foot steps behind her. Whoever it was wasted no time in claiming one of the empty chairs that surrounded the table.

"You know, most guys would be turned off if they saw a girl shuffling through random folders of people who were dead." Kyle said with a smile "Me? Well, I'm just kinda curious…"

He picked up a folder and started looking through it, grimacing when he saw the graphic photos of the dead bodies.

"I work part time at the coroner's office. My boss is having me look it over for a second opinion." Addy lied through her teeth; no way did he need to know about werewolves.

"They want a fifteen year olds opinion?" He said as his face dropped into a slightly confused expression "Hey I know these people."

"You do?" Addy was unsure if he was just saying that to get attention.

"Yeah, Mr. Burger was my sixth grade teacher. God, he hated Nate. He was always giving him detention and crap like that." He picked up another folder. Addy was slightly impressed with his ability to stomach the graphic images. Most people wouldn't have been able to handle it. "I know this guy too."

He picked up another file, shuffled through it and his frown deepened. He threw it aside before grabbing another. By the time he had looked through each of the folders his face looked like it was about to fall off in surprise.

"What's wrong?" Addy asked him, slightly concerned for whatever the answer would be.

"I know all of them." He confessed "Were they targeted by a serial killer? They were all missing their hearts right? So that means-"

"Kyle," Addy cut him off "It's _very_ important that you tell me how you know these people."

"Mr. Evens was my sister's ninth grade Social Studies teacher; she hated him, he was always insulting her. Then Mrs. Dawes, the guidance councilor, Nate always said she was a prick. These three douche bags," He gestured to the files of the high school students "were the biggest assholes at our school. They kept beating the crap out of me and wouldn't leave me alone. Nate and Stephanie tried to talk to them about it but…"

"What about the other two guys?" Addy asked desperately "This is _really_ important Kyle."

"Why? Do you think someone targeted them for a reason?"

"I don't know, just _please_ tell me how you knew them." Addy begged, giving him her best impression of Sam's puppy dog eyes. He caved.

"The guy Mathew Gruber," He gestured the folder of the drop out "was my sister's abusive boyfriend. He wouldn't leave her alone after they broke up. She filed a restraining order but it didn't help, like at all. Then all of a sudden a couple of months ago he never contacted her again. I guess we know now it's because he's dead. Not that I care, the guy had it coming. Jess only really got over him after Nate and she hooked up; they're both loners, but as long as they have each other they don't care, that's enough for them."

Addy ignored the unnecessary comments; she was in hunter mode. "And the other guy?"

"Nate's dad. He was always disappearing for months on end so we weren't worried when he didn't come home one night last month. The guy didn't exactly deserve a 'Father-Of-The-Year' award, he was a total jerk. All he did was drink beer and smoke. He used to whale on Nate after he had too much to drink."

"Kyle, this is going to sound really weird but I need you to answer my question. Have Stephanie and Nate changed during the past couple of months? Ummm, like, have they become moody or grouchy? Have they been acting like something strange was happening to them?"

Kyle paused for a second. "Yeah, I guess, a little bit. Why?"

She brushed off the question. "When did it start, the mood changes?"

"My sister came back from visiting my grandparents Philadelphia; I just thought she had her period or something. What's this about?"

Kyle, without knowing it had given me the pieces of the puzzle that were missing. Addy knew the connections between the victims. Nate and Stephanie, the weird feeling that she had been getting… It was because they are the freaking werewolves!

"I need to go." She told him as she began shoving the files into her school bag. "Now."

Kyle gave Addy a weird look but started to hand her the remanding files. "What's going on?"

Before she got the chance to respond with some crap excuse, the flap to her bag flipped back, giving Kyle a perfect view of her knife. He stepped back, suddenly incredibly cautious.

"Who the hell are you?" He demanded "What's going on?"

Addy didn't have time to explain, she didn't have much time. "Kyle, I can't tell you right now-"

"No, no, no, no." He told her, shaking his head. "Creepy ass pictures are one thing. But a freakin' butchers knife? You start talking right now or I'm calling the cops, and I can guarantee they'll be as interested as I am as to why you're carrying those files around."

"I'm not really a coroner's assistant." Addy admitted.

"No? Really?" Kyle faked surprise. He liked Addy, he really did; but what kinda creepy ass person carried around a freakin' butchers knife and the pictures of a serial killer's victims?

"I know this is going to be hard to believe, but if I don't leave now people will die." Addy told him, meeting his eyes with a serious expression. "That's the truth. I swear. You can call the cops if you want, but I can _guarantee_ they will only make things worse."

He saw her face and realized how serious she was. "You do realize that later you'll owe me an explanation, right?"

"If you really want one later, I'll give you one. But I have to go now." The thing that sucked most about lycanthropes was the fact that it was incurable. To get rid of the werewolf problem, Kyle's best friend and sister would have to be killed. He deserved an explanation for that, even if it went against the basic hunter rules.

"Ok, I'm going to hold you to that." Kyle nodded, not liking her lack of explanation; but, realizing he wasn't going to get anything else. So he shrugged in acceptance and gestured for her to go.

"Thanks." Addy whispered, quickly kissing him before she starting running out of the library, down the street and back to the motel as fast as she possibly could.

I burst into the motel room, causing the two oldest Winchester's to reflexively draw their guns. My face was flushed, my hair a mess and I was panting slightly.

"Addy what's wrong?" Sam asked, dropping his gun on the table before walking over to me. "You were supposed to call for a ride. What happened? What's wrong?"

He looked worried, so did Adam and Dean. Addy took a deep breath, doing her best to slow down her breathing enough to answer. "Running was faster."

"What happened Kid?" Dean demanded, quickly losing patience. He was worried, but then again Addy must have been a sight. She could feel the sweat trickling down her face; and she knew that she was all red and windblown.

"Iknowwhothewerewolvesare." Addy said so fast it came out as one word.

"What?" Adam asked in a confused voice.

"Slow down Kid, and tell us what you said again." Dean told her.

"I know," Addy repeated slowly this time "Who the werewolves are."

"How?" Sam asked as he led her over to her bed. Addy sat down and threw off her bag before looking up to meet the Winchesters' curious gaze.

She blurted out her story as quickly and accurately as she could. By the time Addy finished the story the Winchesters were looking at her thoughtfully. The moon had already risen, and time was running out.

"Sam grab the weapons, we're leaving in five." Dean told his little brother as he grabbed his leather jacket and shrugged into it before grabbing the impala's car keys.

"What about us?" Adam protested, standing at the same instance that Addy did.

"Yeah Dean, what about us?" Addy asked before quoting him "'you can help with the werewolves', remember?"

"That's before I knew they were two very pissed off hormonal teenagers." He told Adam and her. "You guys are staying here while Sam and I deal with it."

"So you're breaking your promise to me?" Addy asked him. Of course, she had seen this coming but that didn't make it suck any less.

"No, I'm just trying to keep you safe." He told me his anger rising. This was not really the time for an argument.

"I appreciate the concern, but you leaving us here isn't going to solve anything. It just puts it off." Addy tried playing the learning experience card; it worked with Cody sometimes. "If you take us with you, we're going to learn how to correctly handle the situation. Besides Adam has uh never seen a werewolf; this is a great learning experience for him."

"Not to mention the second you two leave we're going to follow you." Adam added as an afterthought. Addy glared at Adam; she wasn't going to mention that part.

"They're right Dean." Sam pointed out.

"Crap." Dean protested with a sigh and glares at both of us. "If either of you disobey a single order, you will NEVER see the light of day again. I swear by all that is holy, I will kick both of your asses into next week! You have five seconds to get into the Impala before I change my mind."

Addy wasted no time grabbing her knife and jacket and running out to the car to join the Winchesters.

"Alright Kid, where does your boyfriend live?" Dean asked me.

"He's not my boyfriend." She protested as she rattled off his address.

"Go see if his sister's home." Dean told her as they pulled up at Kyle's house.

Addy knocked on the door, playing with my ponytail as she knocked on the door. She could feel the weight of her dagger in its sheath; and playing with my ponytail kept her from grabbing it.

"Addy?" Kyle hadn't been expecting her when he answered the door. "What are you doing? Uhhh… My parents are on a business trip so you aren't supposed come in… And Stephanie will tattle on me in a heartbeat."

He looked slightly confused when Addy shook her head at him. "No, that's not it." She ignored formalities. Kyle was so sweet; he didn't deserve what was happening into his life. "Is Stephanie home?"

He looked surprised "Um, yeah, she is. Is this about earlier? Do you think she's in trouble?"

"Can I talk to her? It's really important." Addy said trying to be as persuasive as possible. "Please."

Kyle looked slightly taken a back, "Sure, she went to bed early. Come on."

Crap, asleep meant she had already changed.

"No Kyle!" She tried to protest, but he had already started up the stairs and couldn't hear her. If he walked in on his sister, Addy was afraid that she might attack him.

Not thinking she followed him into the house and up the stairs. Crap Dean was going to kill her for going into the house alone, but she _couldn't_ let anything happen to Kyle.

Addy picked up her phone as she felt it vibrate in her pocket.

"What the hell are you doing?" Dean demanded

"I couldn't stop him from going to check on his sister, so I'm going with him."

"_Like hell you are!" _He yelled

"You never said I couldn't go into the house."

"_Get your ass back outside now!"_

"What the heck?" She heard Kyle mutter as he opened the door to his sister's room. "She's not here."

To make the situation worse, her sheets were shredded to pieces; her bedroom window had claw marks and broken glass all around it.

"Oh God. What happened?" Kyle whispered as he fingered his sister's bed sheets. "I mean, it's not like anyone ever comes in here, but you'd think one of us would notice something like this."

"_What's going on Kid?"_ Dean asked Addy.

"She's not here." She told him.

"Well, where the fuck is she?" Dean snapped.

"Kyle, if your sister isn't at your house where is she usually?" Addy turned to Kyle. He looked like he was about to lose it. He was just staring at the claw marks in horror.

"It's like a wolf did this… But there aren't any wolfs in the city."

"Kyle!" Addy yelled again, he looked up at her. "Keep it together! If your sister isn't here, where would she go?"

"Um, Nate's place." He told her.

"Where does Nate live?"

Addy repeated Dean's question to Kyle. He didn't understand what was going on and he was reaching his breaking point. "Five hundred West Lyn Road. It's like a mile from here."

"You got it?" Addy asked my phone.

"_Yeah, hurry up and get out here."_ Dean told her and she heard him shift the car into drive.

"No, leave without me. I'll meet you there." Addy insisted. Waiting for her would waste time they didn't have.

"_Kid-"_ He protested.

"We don't have time to argue, go and I'll meet you there!" She told him a little more forcefully then she normally would have been.

"_Don't take too long Kid."_ He told her before hanging up the phone.

Addy turned around to face a seriously scared and confused Kyle. "What the hell is going on?"

"I don't have time to explain-" She tried to tell him.

"When you told me that at the library it was one thing, but now that my sister and my best friend are involved…" He trailed off and shook his head slightly "What's going on? Why the hell are there claw marks?"

"You won't believe me." Addy told him.

"Try me." He demanded.

She sighed and shrugged slightly, "Nate and your sister are werewolves."

He looked at her like she was crazy.

"Think about it, the way they've been acting lately. Your sister hasn't been the same since she got back from Philadelphia, has she? I bet right after that Nate changed too; I bet they both became got moody and mean. What about the recent string of murders? All people your sister and Nate just happen to know; people who were cruel."

"Werewolves aren't real." He told her, but Addy could tell he was thinking the situation through.

"I'm sorry, but I gotta to go." Addy turned to leave but she felt Kyle's hand on my arm.

"No!" He protested and Addy thought he wasn't going to let her leave "I'm going with you."

"It's too dangerous." Addy tried to tell him, mimicking Dean's words from earlier. "I can't let you get hurt."

"Well to bad, I'm coming with you anyway. If my sister and Nate are hurting people; I need to do something about it." I knew he wasn't going to let me leave without him.

"Don't fall behind, stay by my side and if I tell you something you do it, no questions asked. Understand?"

"Yeah, I've got it." He told her.

"Keep up." Addy warned him as she started running down the stairs, out the house and in the direction of Nate's house.

But Addy had no idea where she was going. She stopped and looked around for some indication of which way she should go. There wasn't any.

"Follow you?" Kyle flashed a quick smile. In any other situation, this would have been funny. "You follow _me_."

He took off. Crap, Addy must really be out of shape. Or else, Kyle was an awesome runner. Because, by the time she caught up to him she was panting heavily. Man he was fast.

"So, how do you deal with these werewolves?" He asked as Addy matched his pace.

She looked at him to see if he was trying to make fun of her, but the look on his face was more curious then condescending. "Their weakness is silver."

"How do you become a werewolf?"

"It's a disease; it's transferred through bites."

"How do you get rid of it?" He asked and Addy knew she couldn't lie to him.

"You don't."

He stared at me "Then how do you stop them?"

Addy didn't answer for a second, Kyle stopped running. She knew she couldn't leave him in the middle of the alley. She stopped, turning to face him. They were almost at Nate's house, and Addy's lungs were starting to burn.

"So; what they go to the hospital or something?" Addy bit her lip but she didn't answer him; what could she say? How do you gently break it to someone? "Are you going to hurt them?" Addy still didn't answer; words were running through her head, nothing sounded right. Kyle's voice rose an octave. "Are you going to kill them?"

"I promise you," Addy tried to convince him "I'll do everything I can to help them. But they're _killing _people."

"Yeah, horrible, abusive people." He fumed.

"Who were still alive! If they continue to do this shit, they're gonna kill innocent people."

"But they're innocent!" He closed his eyes and rubbed his head.

"Kyle, I'll do everything I can to help them." Addy panted, doing her best to ignore the weird feeling in the pit of her stomach. Whatever it was, it could wait; Kyle needed some sort of reassurance.

Kyle opened his eyes and they widened with fear.

"What's wrong?" Addy asked.

"Look out!" He yelled, pushing her out of the way as Stephanie morphed into a wolf-like thing and lunged at Addy.

Addy fell to the ground, reflexively rolling and grabbing her knife. As she stood up Stephanie was looming over her brother looking at him as if he were a piece of meat.

"Stephanie, it's me." Kyle tried to coax her "Your little brother. Remember?"

Stephanie attacked, and Addy barely had enough time to knock her to the ground. Addy was on top of her, desperately trying to hold the stronger girl down.

"Run!" Addy yelled at Kyle, relieved when she saw the only injury he had sustained was a cut. "Run! Go find my cousins!"

He hesitated and Addy had to once again yell at him. "Kyle! Please! Go find them!"

He ran. Addy didn't know how long it would take for him to get the Winchester and bring them back, but she needed help.

Addy dodged Stephanie's jaws as she made to bite her. Much to Addy's horror, as she lay there wrestling with the girl-turned-wolf, she heard another growl. Another wolf; this one sounded deeper.

Nate looked nothing like he had as a human. Though Addy knew he hadn't liked her when he was alive, but the he was looking at her was filled with pure unadulterated hatred; Addy couldn't recall ever having seen a look that full of hatred. She couldn't take both of them; there was no way she could outrun them.

Addy pushed away from Stephanie, standing up, knife outstretched and preparing for an attack from both creatures. As Addy was rising Stephanie side-swiped her, the blow knocked her knife out of her hand and just out of reach. Stephanie clawed at Addy's arms and her chest, ripping at her skin. Addy struggled against her, landing a kick soundly enough on her chest that Stephanie stumbled backward slightly.

That was all Addy needed. She grabbed her knife, and this time when Stephanie lunged at her again, she stuck it out. Addy felt the knife bury itself into Stephanie's heart, Addy felt Stephanie's blood as it escaped, and she saw Stephanie's eyes go wide. Addy pulled her knife out of Stephanie's chest and kicked her dying body away from her.

Before Addy's eyes, Stephanie shifted back into a human.

"What's-what's happening?" She whispered, grabbing at the glowing white wound in her chest.

"Shhh," Addy coaxed "It'll be alright. Go to sleep." She was so glad Kyle wasn't there to see this.

Stephanie nodded once before closing her eyes, never to open them again.

A loud, sadistic growl sounded and Addy stood up desperately preparing herself for Nate's attack. She had gotten so fucking lucky with Stephanie.

Addy doubted her luck would hold a second time. Her shoulder hurt like a bitch from fighting with Stephanie; and her knee was throbbing after the run. She was so screwed.

Nate, the were-creature, roared and started rushing her. Addy couldn't move her body was tired; adrenaline only goes so far. She didn't stand a chance of fighting off a second wolf; and she knew it. Addy closed her eyes and tensed waiting for Nate to hit her.

Three loud gun shots ran through the night and Addy felt droplets of blood hit her body. She opened her eyes to see Nate sprawled out only a few feet in front of her, three bullet holes in his back. Addy felt her knees weaken, and started to sag in relief.

"Addy!" Adam said, running across the alley way and grabbing her. He put his arms around her; she inhaled his warmth, his strength.

"You ok Kid?" Dean called as he examined Nate's body as Sam looked Stephanie over.

Addy nodded yes, to shock to speak. She was shivering but she wasn't cold, she was having trouble breathing. Addy knew she was being stupid, but she was hyperventilating, panicking. She had almost died, if they hadn't showed up when they did…

Addy knew Stephanie had to be killed, there was no denying that. But there was a difference between killing a random wolf, and killing someone Addy knew. She was having trouble dealing with the fact that she had killed Stephanie, and that was making her panic even more. Random occupied vessels she could kill, she hated to do it, but she could deal. Stephanie hadn't been random though, Addy had _known_ her. She had talked to her, she had laughed with her. Addy had even _liked _her.

"Kid!" Dean yelled and he was suddenly standing next to Adam and in front of Addy, holding her face in his hands. "Calm down, just breathe. In, out. In, out. Yeah, that's it."

Addy followed Dean's instructions and until her breath was once again under control. She nodded her thanks and bit her lip. It was embarrassing, panicking like that.

"See?" He told Addy, letting go of her face to briefly rub her hair affectionately "This is why we don't run off by ourselves."

"I don't-I don't get it." Addy stammered "They were only killing people that they had issues with. Why-why'd they go after me?"

"Nate thought I was paying too much attention to you. He got jealous." Kyle told her as he appeared from behind Adam. "Stephanie always went along with him."

He looked scared, confused even; like he didn't know what to think of the world anymore, now that the creatures that inhabited nightmares were actually real.

"Thank you for getting them." Addy whispered to Kyle nodding her head in the Winchester's direction. If he hadn't, there was no doubt in her mind that she'd be dead right now.

Kyle nodded sadly as he looked down at his dead sister and best friend. His eyes filled with tears and Addy wanted so badly to comfort him.

"Come on Kid," Dean whispered into her ear as he tugged on her arm "We've got to get those cuts checked out."

Addy shook her head and pushed away from him, trying to go and comfort Kyle. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder; he shrugged it away from her.

"Kyle…" Addy tried to say something, she didn't know what, but she had to try.

"My mom and dad, they never cared… But Nate and Stephanie, they're my family." He turned around to look at Addy, a tear escaping his eye.

"What am I supposed to do now?" He yelled, throwing his arms wide open in an indication that he was open to suggestions. "Now that I know that the things that go bump and the night are real?"

"Go home." Addy told him as she shoved my dagger back into the sheath at her side. "Go to bed. When you wake up in the morning it'll all just be a memory."

"Don't you get it?" He asked her desperately "How am I supposed to act like everything's normal?"

"Don't do this!" Addy begged of him, but she knew it was too late. She could already feel the pull in her chest that meant she was supposed to help him, the pull that meant it was her job to protect him. That he was her charge. "You can still have a normal life. You can still go to school, get a job, get married and have kids… This isn't what you want."

"What would you do if you were in my position?" Kyle demanded "If your sister and best friend were turned into these… things?"

"What's going on?" Dean demanded, but she just ignored him.

"This isn't about me, this about you and what you're going to do with the rest of your life. Hunting these things isn't a part time job. You start hunting them, and they start hunting you."

Kyle shrugged, and Addy knew that no matter how much she begged and pleaded it was useless.

"Please." Addy tried one more time "Don't do this."

"I'm sorry Addy." He said, looking down at his best friend and sister once more before turning and walking towards the exit of the alley.

"He's not going to be able to go back to a normal life, is he?" Adam asked.

"Nope." Addy whispered; grief overwhelming her.

"Kyle, wait!" She yelled after him, he paused at the entrance of the street and Addy made to run towards him.

Dean grabbed her arm and looked down at her, "Let him go Addy, he's made his decision."

Addy shrugged out of his hold and glared at him. "I know, and it's my job to make sure he doesn't die."

"What do you mean?" Dean asked a little impatiently.

"It means that I have to protect him, to take care of him, and come and help him if he ever needs it." She explained.

"Says who?" Sam asked.

Addy laughed slightly "I don't even know." She waved at the sky. "They never told me that." Addy told Sam before running over to Kyle.

"What is it Addy?" Kyle asked in desperation. He was tired, he was scared and he looked like he wasn't sure what he had left to live for anymore.

"I need you to promise me something." Addy told him.

"Yeah," He sighed deeply "What is that?"

"That, whenever you're in trouble, whenever you need help, you'll call me."

"I have your cell phone number." He reminded me.

She laughed "Cell phones can only do so much. If you ever need my help, all you need to do is say Adeline and I'll be able to hear you no matter where you are. You need to be careful; there are plenty of things worse than werewolves out there. Any questions you have, just call and we'll answer them." Addy jerked my head towards Sam, Dean, and Adam.

"Do I need to use your name for that one too?" He asked with a sad smile.

"No." She said with a small laugh "You can just use your cell phone for that. But Kyle, it's my job to protect you, never hesitate to call me."

"Why is it your job?" He asked the same exact question that Dean had asked her earlier. Except, when Kyle asked her, she could answer it. Stupid red tape.

"Because I'm a guardian, and it's what we do." She told him.

"Like a guardian angel?"

"Kinda, but we don't have wings." Addy admitted.

"That's too bad; I think you'd look cute with them." He pushed a piece of hair out of her face.

"I should probably go." She whispered.

"Probably." He whispered back, but neither of us them moved. Instead Kyle kissed her deeply, only pulling away when Dean cleared his throat loudly.

"I'll see you around." He told her briefly pressing his forehead to her's before he turned around and walked away, never looking back.

"Now," Addy told Adam with a mischievous smile as she walked over to them. "You can tell Dean I made out with Kyle."

"Shut up." He told her, pulling her into a one armed, sympathetic hug. "I'm glad you're okay; don't ever scare us like that again."

"I won't." She assured him.

After that they salted and burnt the bodies. Kyle wasn't going to say anything; Addy had assured the boys of that.

After dealing with the various cuts and bruises they'd gotten, they all fell asleep. Sam set the alarm clock for 0600 hours so they could remove any evidence that they'd had ever been in the motel room.

_'You get in, you do your job and you leave before anyone starts asking questions.'_ Addy's dad had always told her growing up. Clearly the Winchesters had the same approach because by the time they were ready to leave, there wasn't a trace of us ever being Godonlyknowswhereville, America.

**O~O~O~O~O~O**

Lunch was annoying as usual.

"Kid," Dean said through clenched teeth. "You have to eat."

"I'm not hungry Dean!" I reminded him for the umpteenth time. He didn't seem to care.

"That's too bad," He snapped. "Because you're going to eat the entire salad and we're not going anywhere until you do."

I looked around at Dean's, Sam's and Adam's finished plates and realized I was the only thing keeping us from leaving.

"Fine," I huffed, reaching for the pepper shaker.

"Don't-" Dean didn't manage to get whatever he was saying before I tipped the shaker over pepper spilled all over my salad.

Well, at least this meant I didn't have to eat my salad. "What the…?"

"That was meant for Adam," Dean huffed. "The pansy likes pepper on everything."

"Hey!" Adam protested.

"That was a fail." I mumbled, looking at my now ruined food.

"Well, I guess we'll order another one." Sam sighed looking around the diner for a waitress. "To go."

"No," I begged, not really interested in eating. "Let's just go."

"Kid. You. Need. To. Eat," Dean said slowly. Well that frigging solved everything. The Great Dean Winchester decreed it; thusly it will happen. I ate the new salad; we didn't even have to pay for it. The waitress thought that someone else hadn't tightened the lid. Dean got a free piece of pie. Life was good in Dean-land.

**O~O~O~O~O~O~O**

The normal thirteen and half hour drive to Sioux Falls, South Dakota only took Dean ten and a half hours, rest stops included. So by the time we had pulled up to Uncle Bobby's house, the guilty feeling over what had happened the night before had reduced to a minor pull. It kinda sucked, knowing that Kyle was now destined for a life full of hunting evil creatures because he had decided to befriend me.

"Who's truck?" Adam asked as we got out of the Impala.

I shrugged on my backpack and sighed deeply. The ass-old four door pickup truck that had been in even my earliest child hood memories was parked in front of Uncle Bobby's house. "My brother's." Or as Cody called it 'a glorious piece of American automotive history,' Dean would probably agree with him on that; Uncle John always had.

"Here," Dean threw me the keys "you and Adam grab the duffels from the trunk."

"Yes sir." I said as I caught them with ease and opened the trunk. I slung my backpack onto my shoulders as Adam and I piled their hands full of the clothes bags while Sam and Dean grabbed the weapon bags.

"It's good ta' see ya'll called ahead to tell me ya' were commin'." Uncle Bobby's familiar voice called. I turned around, a smile on my face at the thought of seeing Uncle Bobby for the first time in over a year.

"Sorry Bobby," Sam said "Didn't think you'd care if we came unannounced."

"I don't you idjit." Uncle Bobby snapped, but this time his voice didn't bring a smile to my face. A frown consumed my face as I saw, for the first time in over a year, my brother standing next to my adoptive uncle. Adam, Dean, and Sam headed inside to see if they could scrounge something to eat. It was amazing the amount of food that they could inhale at one sitting.

"Hey Addy." He whispered as he took a step closer to me. I dropped the bags that were in my hand and took a step closer to my brother. He was within reach now. It was weird, after all this time I wasn't sure what I thought I'd feel when I first saw him.

"Hey Cody." I told him and he stepped just a little bit closer. Before I knew what I was doing I had kicked him in the gut hard enough that he stumbled backwards. And just like that I started running; running as far as I could, as fast as I could, away from Cody and all the pain he had caused.


	12. Our Frustrations

**A/N:I'd like to thank Hicks07 for (as always) being amazing and editing this chapter for me. And I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed, you guys are amazing and you always bring a smile to my face! I hope the chapter's worth the wait!**

**Disclaimer: No, no I do not own the TV show Supernatural.

* * *

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The thing that sucked ass about the current situation was the fact that Addy hadn't realized just how angry she was with her brother.

As Addy ran she ranted to herself. _Sure, I was pissed at him for dumping me at Lexington's. I hated him, a little, for not trusting me; for being so fucking overbearing. But I hadn't realized that equated to the anger that was currently sitting like a concrete block on my chest._

_I hated feeling helpless, useless… But most importantly I hated thinking that the real reason Cody left might have nothing to do with the apocalypse and familial safety. Riley used that word a lot. Familial, she wanted to be a family psychologist when she finished school. Well that and be a witch. _ Stay focused Addy! Stay focused! ... _What if he hated me? What if Cody just didn't want me around?_

Addy figured she'd run about four maybe five miles, ending up on a kind-of main road. Even better she'd managed to quickly snag a ride. And so here she sat a couple of towns over from Uncle Bobby's staring at a glass of water she didn't really want, in the bar that doubled as the bus station facing a decision she didn't want to make.

To the left she had a bus ticket to Denver, Colorado… Denver was big enough that she could get lost in it. Lost enough that even the Winchester's shouldn't be able to find her. But, the flip-side of that coin was she'd be without the Winchesters. Addy liked them, liked being with them, and liked the haven that they provided her. Getting on the bus would be easy. Easier than going back to face whatever drama waited at Uncle Bobby's house.

But at the same time, leaving meant not being able to see Adam, Dean and Sam again. Ever. Addy felt connected to them. Connected to the Winchesters in a way that was far deeper than a normal family bond.

Addy twirled her ponytail, stared at the water, and fingered Cody's car keys. When she'd kicked him she'd snaked them from his pocket, making it harder for him to follow in the truck. What made the situation even better was the fact that Dean had given her keys to the Impala And when Sam had talked to Bobby last week he'd said that the only running car he had at the moment had flaked out – which meant that the only thing running was the tow truck; and that was for business only.

By the time any of them reached town, the bus would already have gone. Addy sat staring, twirling her ponytail and trying to shake off that _stupid_, logical voice that was screaming: '_Now isn't the time to leave._'

She kept sitting, twirling, and thinking. Thinking about her dad, and when he'd died. That was when her running habit had really started. She'd always been a running, but after her dad, it was the way she started dealing with everything. Cody had been too distracted by funeral arrangements and the like to realize Addy was gone. When Uncle John had tracked her down she was already three states away, waiting for a train.

_I sat on the bench, twisting my _braid,_ swinging my legs in anticipation and fear. I was scared, not that I'd ever admit that to anyone. _

_My dad was supposed to be invincible, nothing was supposed to be able touch him, and now… Now he was gone. Killed by the things he hunted. It was all my fault that he'd died._

_I'd told him about the thing that was haunting my school. Dad had told me he'd fix it, that it wouldn't be a problem. 'No problem at all' were the words he'd used._

_"A simple salt and burn; nothing to it." He'd said._

_But it hadn't been. _

_Here I sat, three days after his death, desperate for a way out. So, I'd made my own, desperate to get away from everything that had happened to me._

_I felt the bench shift as someone sat beside me and looked up to see the face of my uncle. He looked worn down, his face hard, grief and worry openly expressed _

_We didn't speak for a while. Even when my train prepared to depart, Uncle John just gave me a warning expression, almost daring me to even think of moving._

_He waited until the platform had cleared before turning to look at me._

_He opened his mouth; it looked like he tried to say something… But no words came out. Instead he just shook his head._

_"I'm sorry." I finally whispered._

_"You know what Adeline Mary?" Uh ohh… middle name, that meant I was in big trouble. "I thought we got rid of this running away issue."_

_I tried to look away, but he grabbed my chin and forced me to look in his eyes. _

_"We had no idea where you were. Anything could have happened to you." He continued, "I know how hard it is to lose someone who's close to you, but I can guarantee your dad wouldn't put up with running and I won't either. So I suggest you grab your bag and follow me to the Impala without making a scene." _

_He let me gather up my backpack before grabbing me and frog-marching me out to the car. His grip hurt, but I didn't dare complain; I knew I was in a lot of trouble. I really didn't need any more. _

_Opening the back car door, he gestured for me to get in the back. I complied, climbing into the car before I buckled the seatbelt. The click of the metal snapping together was the only sound for three hundred miles. My uncle yelling at me was one thing, but his complete and utter silence was something I wasn't used to. _

_Five hours later, when we were settled in a motel room for the night, I wasn't exactly surprised when Uncle John took a seat in a straight backed dining-chair, gesturing for me to come over to him._

_I hesitated, my feet felt stuck to the floor._

_"Adeline." He warned in a gruff voice. That's all it took for me to quickly scurry over to him._

_I knew what he was going to do, but it didn't make it any easier when he pulled down my pants and picked me up, placing me over his knee, with my legs trapped between his. _

_During the whole ordeal I tried my hardest not to cry. I didn't want him to know how much pain I was feeling. It hurt; I'd be lying if I said it didn't. Uncle John's hand was huge; it felt like a ton of rocks raining on my rear end. As the tension built up in my body I tried to hide the pain; the pain in my butt, the pain in my heart, and the pain in my soul. Finally I reached my breaking point and it all burst out; I started sobbing hysterically. I couldn't let him see how much everything was affecting me; I had to hold it in for my dad, I had to be strong. I didn't mean to let the tears spill over; I didn't mean to start to cry. But as soon as the tears started, I couldn't get them to stop. _

_Once again my uncle picked me up, but this time it wasn't to teach me a lesson about running away. I felt drops of water fall against my skin and I looked up to see Uncle John, the bad ass demon hunter, crying._

_"It's going to be alright Addy," He held me, rubbed my back, and soothed me as he rocked gently back and forth "I know it's hard now, but things will get better."_

_I could tell he was saying the words to convince himself as much as me. Dad and Uncle John had been close, really close. My dad's death had affected him as much as it had affected my brother and me._

_"What's going to happen to us now?" I cried into his shoulder._

_"We keep fighting, for ourselves, for the future… But we stay together, because we're a family and that's what we do. Because, in the end, family is all we have."_

After dad died Uncle John had, as Addy's only living adult relative, by default, been awarded primary guardian ship. Uncle John had paperwork drawn up giving partial guardianship to Cody; Uncle John had known that he wouldn't be around enough to be Addy's only guardian and he had understood that Cody would be able to take care of her. That had set Canley off. She was 100% against Addy being in the world of hunting anyway, but after their dad had died, she didn't want her little sister anywhere near the action. Canley had sued Uncle John and Cody for full custody before being granted temporary guardianship until the trial.

Addy had been pissed that she had to leave Cody, even more so when he had handed her over without a fight. Things had gone bad, really bad while Addy was living with Canley. Addy's stay had lasted all of a week before Cody had come and retrieved her. With custody papers in hand, Uncle John had picked up his crying niece, placing her in his truck before getting the two of them out of Wisconsin as quickly as he could. That had been the last time Addy had seen her sister.

But what Dean didn't know, and Addy had no plans to tell him, was that because Uncle John was a co-guardian - with the way the paperwork had been drawn up - when John had died Dean technically became Addy's co-guardian. Which meant a lot of things really, including that Dean had every right to be as over bearing and controlling as he wanted. Although, the term Sam would have used was parental. Addy just felt it was overbearing.

Addy sighed desperately and reached for the glass of water. She opened her mouth to down the water, and cringed at the weird taste it had spitting the clear liquid onto the floor. Whatever was in that glass, it wasn't water.

"Stupid bartender. When I said water, I meant water." She muttered grabbing her backpack and bus ticket. She shrugged on her backpack, grabbed the ticket off the bar, and resolutely started towards the door. The bus was due to leave in twenty minutes.

Addy was looking at the floor walking across the almost empty bar when she ran into someone. "What the hell!" she exclaimed looking up to meet the gaze of the _last _person she expected. "What do you want Ruby?"

"Where do you think you're going?" She growled with an angry smile. She snatched the bus ticket and looked it over. "Denver? Did you actually think you were going to make it out of this godforsaken backwoods town?"

"Back off Ruby." Addy snapped, grabbing the ticket out of her hand before shoving it back into the fleece pocket and pushing past her on the way to the door. "I don't need to explain myself to you."

Addy tried to open the door, but Ruby, using some 'super demon speed' crap, pushed it closed before Addy even managed to get a toe out. They were alone in the bar; the bartender had disappeared into some backroom. It was just the two of them. Addy quickly glanced around and grinned thinking to herself 'This time there is no Sam or Dean to stop me from hurting the Demon Bitch.'

"Seriously?" Addy asked "Why don't you just back off before I stab you in the freakin' heart?"

"I'd like to see you try." Ruby warned.

"Whatever Demon Bitch." Addy snapped; Ruby's nickname just kinda slipped out, trying again to open the door.

She stuck out her foot, still not letting the door open.

"Why don't you just back off?" Addy suggested, really wanting to punch the older girl but knowing that would lead to an all out fight.

"Sorry," Ruby feigned an apologetic tone, she even added in a smile "No can do, Little One."

"Why the hell not?" Addy demanded through gritted teeth.

"Sam asked me to find you."

"Let me guess, you _always_ do what Sammy asks you to do." Addy paused for dramatic effect "Doesn't that sorta make you his bitch?"

"I bet you think you're so cute, don't you?"

"I think I'm frigging adorable."

"Great, just what we need, a miniature Dean."

"You need to move now." Addy told her, ignoring Ruby's comment as she gestured toward the door that the Demon Bitch was still blocking.

"Nope!" She said with an entertained expression on her face "See, I'm supposed to take you back to the Winchesters before something happens."

"I appreciate your concern, but I can handle myself just fine."

"Oh, yeah," She leaned against the door way. "I believe you."

"If you're done with your sarcastic crap, I have a bus to catch." Addy turned and attempted to make it make it out a back door. Even though she wasn't sure where there was a back door; but, fire codes generally required two exits. This frigging rat trap should have at least two doors. Crap; why hadn't she looked on the way in.

"Nooo," Ruby assured before she shoved Addy into a chair. "You don't."

"I told you before Ruby, I have some place to be and it isn't here."

"You're right; you do have someplace to be. But the Winchesters will still be at Bobby's when you're done telling me why the hell you think running off is a good idea."

"Oh, we're talking now are we?" Addy was annoyed and felt anger rising quickly; she could feel the weight of her dagger around her ankle. "I don't do 'the talking' thing, _especially _with demons."

"Well too bad," She snapped, shoving Addy back into the chair when she attempted to get up. "Sam asked me to find you and neither of us is going anywhere until I say so."

And suddenly Addy realized what this was about and started giggling quickly progressing into full-blown laughter.

"Care to share what's so funny?" Ruby asked.

"Sam may have asked you go come find me, but that's not the reason you came looking for me, is it?" Addy said her laughter dying down to a chuckle.

"What on earth are you talking about?"

"You figured out what I am, didn't you? That's why you decided to make sure I didn't fall off the face of the earth, isn't it?"

"So what's in it for you?" Addy continued "The fame you'll get if you kill the first human born Gua-" The word Guardian caught in Addy's throat. It didn't matter that Ruby had figured it out; Addy still couldn't say anything. She tried to say it again, but still couldn't speak. _Ok, so I'd have to rephrase and redirect. I couldn't say anything to Ruby until she said something to me first. It was annoying, no; it was a pain in the ass. Next chance I got I was totally going to kill my brother for being to freakin' stubborn to let me handle myself._

"Special person," So that wasn't exactly the greatest alternative phrase, but it was the only one Addy could pull off the top of her head. "In over two hundred years? Or is your sudden interest in me an attempt to try to persuade me to see the demon's side of things?"

"Special person?" Ruby looked at me like I was an idiot "Don't you mean Guardian?"

Thank God, an opening "I'm not one to put labels on people. Take you for instance, most people would say you're just a demon. Me, I just call you Demon Bitch, the psycho bitch from hell."

"I'm the psycho bitch?" She asked "You're the one that sees things that aren't there."

"Go to hell Ruby!"

"Been there, done that." She sighed "I think you're just jealous I have a place I can call 'home'. Unlike you, not quite human, not quite supernatural… Heaven doesn't want you and you can't handle Hell."

"Well that's too bad," Addy said sarcastically "I guess that just means I'll have to stick with Earth then!"

Ruby looked angry, really angry. For a second Addy thought she was actually going to get punched. Instead she reached out and pressed her palm against Addy's forehead. Addy's stomach left like it was on a roller coaster as she transported from the run down bar to Uncle Bobby's living room.

Addy hit the ground with a thump, and lay sprawled on the living room, staring up at the symbols and demon traps that were emblazoned into the ceiling. A familiar face entered Addy's field of vision and she involuntarily groaned as she stared into the face of an angry looking brother.

"What the hell were you thinking?"Cody demanded.

"I was thinking that I wanted to get away from you."

But Cody wouldn't have any of it. "Get up Addy."

"No!" Addy told him, defiance and anger ringing loud and clear in voice and posture.

"Now." He yelled.

"No." Addy answered, refusing to meet his eyes as he glared.

"That wasn't a suggestion." He snapped, bending down and pulling her up by my shirt "That was an order."

Addy felt a familiar pulling sensation in her chest as her legs involuntarily straightened. Cody looked upset, like he hadn't meant to take it that far. But he had, and at that moment Addy hated him.

"You order me to?" Addy hissed "Are you really going there?"

"It's not like you left me much of a choice."

Cody released his hold on her shirt and, much to her horror, when he went to drop his hand to his side, it caught on my necklace, breaking the chain the that held it in place.

Addy's mouth opened in horror and looked like she was going to cry. She felt like she was going to cry. Looking up to meet his eyes, Cody had the same expression on his face.

"Addy," He tried to say "I'm so sor-"

"How could you?" Addy screamed, bending down and picking up the broken chain and discarded pendant. It was her one salvation, the one thing that kept her human. And now it was broken.

"Please, I'll fix it." Cody told her. "I promise; I'll fix it for you."

"Oh yeah," Addy laughed. "Like you fixed everything else?"

"Addy," Cody warned.

"Shove it!" She yelled.

"Addy," Cody's voice was completely calm as he spoke. "Please let me see it."

He was going to give her the chance to willing hand it over.

"No fucking way!" Addy screamed "You can't make me do anything! It's mine, so back off!"

Cody took a deep breath, doing his best to calm down. Addy had backed herself up into this corner. She had challenged his authority, told him that he couldn't make her do anything. And, well, Cody had to prove to her that, despite a thirteen months absence, he was still in charge.

"Give me the necklace Adeline." His voice left nothing up for negotiation.

Addy's arm stretched out involuntarily and slowly her palm opened up. Cody snatched the pendant out of it and considered his options. He could always just tie a string around it and give it back; but Addy would complain about how ugly it was, not to mention it wouldn't exactly teach her the whole 'you need to listen to me when I'm talking" lesson. Besides, five minutes with his frigging moody-ass teenage sister and Cody already needed a break. God, he missed the pre-pubescent Addy; she'd been so much easier to deal with, she'd been a sweet kid. He'd just go out and buy a stupid chain.

"I'm sorry." He apologized. He reached out to touch Addy in comfort but she just stepped away, shaking her head in disgust.

"You're an asshole." Addy hissed, walking out of the living room and heading for the front door.

Cody didn't bother stopping her; they both knew that without the necklace she wouldn't go too far.

"Addy…" He tried to calm her down; she ignored him as she pushed open the front door and walked out of the house.

"Where the hell have you been?" Dean demanded angrily as Addy walked past the Winchesters and Uncle Bobby. She ignored his question and continued on my way.

"Sam," She called behind herself "Tell your friend, Demon Bitch that, next time I see her, she's dead."

"Addy!" Cody called after her when she got too far away from him for comfort. "Please, just calm down."

Adam grabbed her arm and turned her around to face him.

"What's up with you Adds?" Adam asked concern painted across his face.

"Nothing." Addy looked at him sullenly, but as soon as she spoke he crinkled his nose in disgust.

"Have you been drinking?" He demanded, shaking her slightly.

"No! But, Ruby found me in a bar." Addy admitted with a shrug pulling on the bottom of her messy ponytail.

"Then why do you smell like alcohol?" Dean snapped and, judging by the look on his face, he was dying to slap some sense into her.

"I had a glass of water; but, it didn't taste right. So I spit it out."

He took a deep breath, doing his best to calm down as he reminded himself that, now that Cody was here, he wasn't responsible for taking care of the moody teenager. God, he was glad Sam was out of the moody teen thing; well most of the time. He still acted like a little bitch sometimes.

If only he knew.

"What's that?" Adam asked, looking down at the piece of white paper protruding from Addy's pocket.

Before Addy realized what was happening, Adam reached into her fleece pocket and pulled out the bus ticket. 'Well fuck.' Addy had completely forgotten she'd put it in there.

"What the hell is this?" He hissed, looking at the ticket, and then over at Addy like he wasn't sure what to do with her.

Oops, guess that wasn't the best place to put the ticket.

"What's what?" Dean asked, causing Adam to hand over the ticket to his brother. It took all of three seconds for Dean to look it over before he handed the ticket over to Sam to examine.

By the time the ticket got to Cody Addy already had had three large very angry men staring down at her. Cody saw the ticket; and became the fourth large angry man staring down at Addy. God it made her feel short when she had frigging giants looming over her.

"No." Cody said in a pissed off voice as he ripped the ticket in half.

"No," He repeated, ripping it into quarters.

"I thought Uncle John and Dad had already beaten this into your head," He ripped it again. "You not supposed to run away from your problems."

"You face them head on," He ripped the ticket one last time before releasing the pieces and letting them fall to the ground. "Like a m-" He stopped himself, slightly embarrassed at what he had been about to say.

"Like a man?" Addy angrily finished for him "I can think of a couple issues right there, you know, considering I'm not a guy."

"Now's not the time for your sarcasm." He warned "Like a hunter, you face your issues like a _hunter_."

"Suuuure," Addy said sarcastically, rolling her eyes "That's what you were trying to say."

"Kid!" Dean warned, indicating that the sarcasm needed to stop, and Addy needed to cut the attitude now.

Cody, like Dean, was done with Addy's impertinent crap. "Get your ass back inside, into your bedroom and don't come down until one of us calls you. Now."

"Is that an order?" Addy hissed, glaring at her goddamn domineering brother.

"Yes." He answered simply as Addy did her best to stand her ground. It wasn't working, even with two feet firmly planted on the ground Addy felt the desire-no, the need, to follow Cody's order. It was a losing battle, she had no chance of winning, and yet still fought tooth and nail as her legs carried her uncooperative body into the house, up the stairs and into the room that Uncle Bobby had declared hers years ago.

Addy flopped on the bed, angry at her brother for being so controlling but mostly angry at herself for getting stuck in this situation.

_The 'word of God' and 'humanity's free will', it was ironic that I was supposed to represent all that bullshit and yet I didn't have it myself. No, I, Adeline Mary Campbell-Noel, did not possess the ability to disobey a direct order. No free will for me, because that would be just to gosh darn easy._

**O~O~O~O~O~O**

Cody watched as his baby sister stomped up the wooden stairs and slammed into her room. He hated seeing her like this, absolutely hated it but, she needed to learn that her actions had consequences; and sometimes unintended consequences. The running away, being disobedient, the attitude, the defiance, it had to stop. If she kept it up she was going to end up hurt, or dead. There nothing he wouldn't give to hug her, tell her everything was going to be alright. Unfortunately in their lives, with their line of work, it never seemed to work out that way. Life did not have happy endings.

Cody knew his job first and foremost was to protect his sister. He hadn't always embraced it; and Addy hadn't always made it easy. Okay, she rarely made it easy. But, she was his baby sister, and he loved her with all his heart. She was his responsibility and it was his job to keep her safe. So, when he had a vision warning him of the oncoming apocalypse, he did the best thing he could think of to keep her safe.

Unfortunately for both of them, it meant Cody sending Addy to boarding school. He picked a school far from the usual Campbell-Noel hunting grounds because most hunters did not have large amounts of higher education; so that should throw at least some things off her track for a little while. Unlike his sister, Cody was a simple, everyday, not-so-unique psychic. He was of no interest to either the angels or the demons; kind of anyway. He had his uses, but his special skills were nothing in comparison to Addy's. That wasn't exactly her fault that she didn't know how special she was. The extended Campbell-Noel/Winchester family had made the deliberate decision not to tell her in the hope that she'd be able to live at least normal childhood. And Cody had abided by the decision made by his elders, he had respected their decision; it didn't mean he liked it, just that he abided by it.

Had it worked? No, no it hadn't. Not even a little.

Here they were, 395 days since they had last seen each other, and the two Noel siblings had yet to speak two civilized words to each other. Since he'd dropped her off at the boarding school Bela had suggested after he'd has vision of the seal breaking, he'd held onto the idea that Addy would run over to him and embrace him in a hug like she had done so much during her childhood. God he'd missed his baby sister. He knew that Lexington's was a great school; it had a good soccer team one of the few sports that Addy loved, they had good academics, surprisingly good food, and a nice campus. Cody closed his eyes, he missed Bela so much. The three of them had been a good team, Bela had been willing to help guide Addy into womanhood.

It killed Cody to admit it, but the girl he had just ordered back into the house was no longer a child. She was a teenager, a young adult, on the verge of womanhood, not quite there but getting dangerously close.

But the running shit… He could recall every incident with perfect detail, every time Addy had run away or gone missing. It scared him just thinking about it. Especially because Cody sucked at finding her, the only person who had ever been any good at it was Uncle John, and he was gone.

So, what had Cody done when his sister had kicked him and run off? He had reached into his pockets to grab his keys and go after her. Apparently a year apart had been way too long, because during that period of time she had somehow managed to snatch his keys. Maybe that fancy school wasn't so good after all. What the fuck else had they taught her there? He was impressed at the fact that she had kicked him; she usually used her fists. He had been expecting a punch, so she had learned something. Just not a 'something' that he'd want her to learn.

School, he had sent her to school to learn, develop life skills (not hunting skills), make friends, and learn to be a woman. Not go fucking hunting. Had he wanted her to forgo the world of hunting and focus on her education? Hell yes.

Did it surprise him that she hadn't? No, not in the slightest, but it sure did manage to piss him off a little more… If that was at all possible.

If the Winchesters hadn't been there, there was no doubt in Cody's mind that his sister would have been on that stupid bus. With his luck in tracking his sister; he would have gone east when she went west. It hurt his pride; but they'd earned a thank-you.

Cody gave his cousins a once over. "Thanks." He stammered out; he knew about Dean, and Sam; but the last time he'd seen them he'd only been five. In the years since their last encounter, much had changed. "I don't know what I would have done if she had disappeared."

"Don't worry," Dean snapped flashing Cody a look of disgust. "We didn't do it for you."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Cody demanded.

"You know what that means." Sam gave Cody an identical look to Dean's.

"I'm not sure I do. How about you explain it to me?" Cody offered, ready to defend himself against anything the Winchesters threw at him.

"_No one_," Dean pointed to the door Addy had just disappeared through "Get's that screwed up without someone's help."

"I did what I had to, too keep my sister safe."

"So what?" Adam asked "That meant ignoring her for a year?"

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Cody asked the younger boy.

"Language." Walking in between the four men Bobby smacked Cody upside the head. "Alright you four, it's time ya'll stop acting like freakin' pansies and talk this out like men."

"I don't have time for this Bobby; I need to get my sister to safety."

"And ya will," Bobby insisted "But first I think everyone wants to know what in the green blazes is goin' on."

"I don't owe you guys anything, least of all an explanation." Right now, Cody only had one thing on his mind, keeping his little sister safe. Which meant a lot of lies, moving on before anyone got suspicious and most importantly, keeping his mouth shut.

"Boy," Bobby warned "I raised you up and I will put you back down."

"Come on Bobby, you know I can't say anything."

"No, your dad an' John warned ya ta be careful with who ya told."

"Yeah, well, maybe someday, but not now." Cody sighed and ran his hand through his hair in a way that mirrored Addy when she was frustrated, worried, or irritated.

"You think we don't have a right to know?" Dean demanded, glaring at Cody. He still wasn't sure what to make of the guy; according to Addy the guy had dumped her at some fancy boarding school and then ignored her for the better part of a year. Dean really wanted to turn the air blue with cuss words; but, one look at Bobby's face had him toning down his language. "She's family. We love the freakin' Kid! We wanna keep her safe."

"What? No, that's not what I meant at all. I have things I have to deal with first, things that are more important at the moment." Cody responded.

"Like what?" Sam asked.

"Right now I need to get my keys from Addy and go buy a new chain for her necklace." Cody sighed.

"Your sister's life is in danger and you're worried about her jewelry?" Dean didn't even bother hiding his anger.

"Trust me." Cody answered "Right now, this little piece of jewelry is the only thing keeping her sane. And she likes it on a chain; it's pretty."

"What's that suppose to mean?" Adam looked just as annoyed as Dean.

"That my little sister has a secret that even the glorious Winchester men don't know about…" Cody replied, his voice dripping sarcasm. He paused for a second looking at them before whispering to himself "And I hope it stays that way."

Sam and Dean exchanged a look as they followed Cody back into Bobby's house.

"Addy." He called from the bottom of the stairs. No answer.

"Addy." He called again, running his hand threw his hair. "Talk to me."

"Is that an order?" She called from up stairs.

"No," Cody replied "More like a friendly request."

There was a momentary silence before she sullenly responded "Fine, what do you want?"

"The keys you snaked from me. And while you're at it, I'm pretty sure Dean wants his back too."

"Can I leave the room?" She asked.

"Not until one of us tells you can." He responded with a sigh. She was killing him, fucking, noppe gotta tone his language down, she was freakin' killing him.

"Bite me!" She snapped back.

"Give me the keys Addy." He ignored her comment.

There was a pause, Cody waited for his sister to respond, to give in willingly. But she didn't. "Now!"

He dodged the first set of keys that was launched at his head before a second pair slammed into the side of his head.

"What the hell was that for?" He snapped upwards.

"I hope you wreck your fucking truck!" Addy snapped.

"I love you too Adds. Watch your frigging language." Cody called up to his sister before turning around to face Dean.

"Here." He said, handing over the keys to the Impala. "I have to go out; I'll be back as soon as I can. Do me a favor and look after her, will ya?"

"Yeah." Dean nodded, watching as the younger man walked out of the house.

Dean was impressed; he'd be lying if he said he wasn't. During their time together, Dean had done his best to control Addy and her temperamental antics. _Tried_ _to_, being to operative phrase and here Cody was, around his sister less than three hours and Addy was following every order he had given her. If Dean hadn't seen it, he wouldn't have believed it.

"Is it just me, or is Addy acting weird?" Adam asked.

"She's acting weird." Sam assured his little brother.

**O~O~O~O~O~O**

"Addy," Sam called from the bottom of the stairs. It had been a good two hours since Cody had gone out and, though Sam did think she deserved some sort of punishment for being stupid enough to run off, she also needed food… Considering she still insisted she wasn't hungry every time someone mentioned eating food. "Dinner."

They hadn't caught Addy throwing up since the incident in the parking lot. But still, just because they didn't see it, didn't mean it wasn't happening. Her refusal to eat had frustrated Sam to the point that he had actually sat her down and tried to explain to her that, even if she was going through a difficult point in her life, neither bulimia nor anorexia were the answers to dealing with her problems.

Sam's concern had only been increased when Addy had merely looked him in the eyes before beginning to laugh hysterically. Not exactly comforting; especially considering she was doing everything in her power _not_ to eat.

"I'm not hungry!" She yelled from her bedroom.

There she went again, claiming she wasn't hungry. The only issue there was, was the fact that Sam knew she hadn't eaten breakfast or lunch today. And dinner last night; she'd eaten a little, but, not enough to sustain her.

"You haven't had much to eat lately." Sam said in a lame attempt to convince her.

"That doesn't mean I'm hungry!" She snapped back.

"Too bad!" Dean yelled from the kitchen, he was getting sick of the kid's blatant refusal of food. "Get your butt down here now."

A steady stream of curses sounded from upstairs and the clunking of feet before Addy descended the stairs, glaring at Sam as she continued her swearing.

"Shut your mouth before I wash it out with soap." Bobby warned the petulant girl. Much to everyone the kitchen's surprise, she closed her mouth.

"So tell me," Adam told Addy "What have you been up to all day, sitting alone in a room…"

"Shut up Adam." She snapped, giving him a look that shut him up. "Where'd my brother go?"

"He went out to buy a new chain for your necklace." Dean sighed "What the crap is so special about that old thing anyway?"

"My mother gave it to me." Half truths, Addy was going to stick with half truths. Dean would definitely catch her if she tried to lie. "Why the heck am I even down here?"

"Because you need food, I'm getting sick of your ana-not eating crud, Kid. You're eating and that's final." Dean snapped at her as Bobby placed down a pot of spaghetti. "Now dig in and eat."

Dean wasn't sure what to make of the situation when Addy reached into the steaming hot pot of pasta and pulled out a handful before shoving the food into her mouth. What surprised him even more was the fact that she did it again, and again, and again, shocking Dean into a wordless state.

"What in the hell are ya doin'?" Bobby demanded, staring at Addy like she had an extra head.

But Addy didn't answer; she was too busy shoving more pasta into her mouth.

"Answer him Kid!" Dean yelled, grabbing the pot and pulling at away from a hysterical looking Addy.

"I'm digging in like you ordered me to." She whimpered as she reached over the table, trying to grab another fist full of pasta.

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked as Addy literally fought Dean for the pot.

"What are you doing Kid?" Dean grunted when Addy knocked the pot out of his hand and to the floor. She knelt down, picking up strings of the spaghetti and placing as many as possible into her mouth. It was pathetic, it was sickening, and it was almost like she had no choice, because for each strand of pasta she placed into her mouth, as small whimper would sound as her body shook uncontrollably.

"Addy," Cody's strong voice broke the awkwardness in the kitchen "Stop."

His words held no room for argument and, almost as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders, Addy immediately stopped. She sat there on the kitchen floor, panting and a look of desperation on her face.

"I'm going to be sick." She cried and no sooner had a trashcan been placed in front of her face then she heaved, regurgitating all the spaghetti she had just consumed.

"It's ok." Cody soothed, rubbing her back affectionately until the heaves finally came to a complete stop. "See? It's going to be alright. I fixed it, I fixed Mom's necklace. You don't have to do what everyone tells you to do now. It's ok."

Cody offered his sister the metal and stone pendant; she quickly snatched it out of his hands before securing the clasp around her neck. As soon as the necklace was in place Addy's shaking stopped and the Winchesters and Bobby were relieved to notice that, whatever had just happened to their cousin, was over.

"What in the hell?" Bobby demanded; this situation was weird enough to warrant swearing, at least in Bobby's opinion.

"You!" Addy hissed, pushing away from her brother. "This is entirely your fault! You were the one who broke Mom's necklace; you were the one who ordered me not to tell anyone! Do you have any idea how embarrassing this crap can get?"

"Embarrassing?" Cody didn't even pretend to act calm anymore "Embarrassing? How about dangerous? Anything could happen to you!"

"Exactly! You need to trust me to take care of myself." Addy rounded on her brother, dangerously calm despite his yelling.

"Trust you? How can I trust you? You don't ever listen to anyone!"

"Oh yeah," Addy laughed sarcastically "Because your suggestive instructions have been _so_ helpful!"

"That's enough," Dean yelled, standing up and making his way in between the arguing brother and sister. "Both of you! We're fighting enough crap as it is, the last thing we need to do is turn against each other."

"Screw you Dean." Addy snapped "Like you have any idea what I'm fucking going through."

"Watch your mouth!" Both Dean and Cody yelled.

"You know better than to disrespect someone who's older than you, especially when he's your guardian." Cody warned his sister, giving her a stern gaze.

Awww… fuck. With those words from Cody, Addy knew she was in trouble. Or, rather, more trouble than she was already in.

"What?" Dean asked, shifting his feat slightly "Come again?"

"You didn't tell him?" Cody asked his sister, not surprised when she looked away from his gaze. "Adeline?"

"Of course I didn't tell him. I didn't even know he existed until a month ago." Addy spat.

"Did you know that your dad was her godfather?" Cody asked Dean, waiting for him to nod before continuing. "Well, did you know that, after our father died, he became her legal guardian?"

"No," Dean admitted, not really understanding where Cody was going with this.

"He gave me partial guardian ship, but kept himself as a co-guardian; CPS wasn't thrilled with the idea of handing over guardianship to a 20 year old without a visible means of support, that way they'd be happy and if Addy had to stay with Uncle John there wouldn't be any issues." Cody explained "Well, when he died, the way the paperwork was phrased, legally, you became Addy's guardian. Or rather, co-guardian."

"I can understand why you don't want the responsibility," Cody continued "It's not like she's your sister."

"No," Dean shook his head, giving Addy a look that told her several things at once. One, Dean wasn't going to take any of her crap anymore. Two, Dean had no interest in giving up his responsibility of being her guardian. And, three, if Addy thought Dean had been a pain-in-her-ass before, than she had better prepare herself for what he was going to be like now. "I wanna take care of the Kid."

"She's not safe around you, Dean." Cody snapped "You think I haven't seen her bruises, or her new scars? You let her get hit by a car."

"And you fuckin' abandoned her at a school, letting all kinds of screwed up crap happen to her." Cody's words set Dean's teeth on edge and he matched Cody's tone, barely flinching at the head-slap Bobby gave him.

"Lexington's was safe, Bela and I made sure of that. Whatever she said happened to her, I'm sure she was just being dramatic." Cody's words stung Addy.

"Dramatic?" She whispered and when Cody turned around he saw the shocked expression on her face. "Yeah, you're right Cody. I probably was just being over dramatic. I probably just imagined the demons, the angels, the werewolves, the vampires, and the ghosts who came after me when you left me alone. I'm sure I just imagined all the crap that I went through."

The calm, unemotional way Addy spoke made Cody realize that Addy was speaking the truth.

"But don't worry about it." Addy assured her brother "Because I'm sure I imagined everything. 'Cause I'm just a drama queen."

Her words hit Cody like a slap in the face. Addy wasted no time turning around and stalking out of the room, not bothering to look back at her brother.

**O~O~O~O~O~O**

It was 2 a.m when Addy managed to shake off her nightmare. Using the moonlight, Addy stumbled around the room, slipping on her tennis shoes before strapping on her knife. She was feeling rebellious. Well, rebellious enough to ignore Dean's declaration that running to deal with her insomnia was no longer an option.

Whatever, it's not like Dean knew what she was going through.

Careful to not disturb Bobby or the sleeping Winchesters, Addy tiptoed across the second floor, down the stairs and out the front door, all without waking up Cody who was asleep on the couch.

She shut the front door with a soft click, turning around to face the last person she expected to be there.

"What the hell are you doing up?" Adam asked, taking a drag off the cigarette he was holding. He was standing just off the porch, looking at Addy with a tired expression

"I could ask you the same thing." Addy snapped, walking off the porch as she eyed the cigarette in Adam's hand. "You know Dean'll kill you if he ever catches you smoking, right?"

"Yeah, well, he's not going to." Adam finished and flicked the butt to the ground before kicking some dirt over it and pulling out his pack and lighting up a new one. "Unless you tell him, but I know you're not going to."

"And why is that?" Addy asked, "Because as far as stupid things go, that is definitely on the top of my list."

"Golly, little girl! And you make such great choices in your life?" Addy stalked over to Adam pulling the cigarette out of his mouth. She threw it on the ground, stomping it out before looking up at his pissed off expression.

"What the hell was that for?" He demanded as he fingered his lighter.

"Gee, I don't know Adam." Addy said sarcastically "Maybe it's because you're being more than a little hypocritical right now."

"Uh huh, Adds. Or should I say, Little Miss 'I Don't Eat,' I don't expect you to understand. I have a lot of crap to deal with right now and this helps calm me. Or would you prefer the scientific answer?"

"Don't call me that." Addy hissed at him and shook her head "You don't get to call me Adds right now. I care about you Adam, and I'm dealing with a lot of shit right now too so I understand the need for an escape. But we're hunters; lung capacity is kinda required for the job description. You smoking, yeah, it isn't helping you, like at all."

"I don't expect you to understand." Adam lit up again and took a puff. He felt the smoke slide down this throat, and closed his eyes for a moment. God it felt good.

"That's probably a good thing." Addy nodded "Because I don't. But you need to deal with this before Dean finds out. Because he will, I don't know how, but Dean always finds this crap out. And I don't wanna be in your shoes when he finds out."

"It's not like I'm addicted," He snapped.

"Really?" Addy couldn't help but laugh. "Because I could have sworn I smelt smoke on your clothes when I was doing laundry. I just thought it was from a salt and burn trip. Little did I know you were actually a fucking chimney. Oh Dean's gonna love this."

"You're not going to tell him," Adam stated.

"No." Addy admitted "I don't want you telling him about me going running either. So deal?"

Silence engrossed the teenagers, during which time Adam finished up his cigarette and nodded at Addy. He kicked dirt over it, hiding it like he'd the first one; and Addy had done to the second one.

"You should talk someone too, about what's going on." Adam told her softly "Whatever you're hiding, you don't need to go through it alone. I know what it's like to not have any control over your life and where it's going."

"I'll be fine." Addy tried to reassure him, the bleak look in his eyes made her selfishly feel better. He got it. "But thanks for the offer."

"No problem Addy." Adam told her, clapping her once on the shoulder before walking back inside.

Now, more than ever, Addy felt the need to run, to clear her head, to get away with from everything. She ran, as far and as fast as she could, letting tree after tree passed her bye. She didn't know how to deal with being a Guardian; she wasn't ready for everything she had to face, so instead she ran away from it, pushing herself to go further and further.

She kept running, even after breathing became difficult and her legs began to protest. She pushed herself, further than she should have been considering how out of shape living at school had left her.

She pushed herself, because running was the one thing she had left.


	13. The Place Where Anger Dwells

**Disclaimer: I don't own the show...And all that jazz...**

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_"A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it."_

When my legs finally gave out, I was at least ten miles away from Uncle Bobby's. I tumbled to the ground, my body hitting the pavement with a mixture of pain and un-admitted defeat. I was out of shape, not to mention the two beers I had snuck just over two hours ago weren't exactly helping the situation. I wasn't drunk, but I most certainly wasn't sober.

Yeah, I got the whole 'drinking' could be misconstrued as a way of acting out, sorta like Adam's smoking habit, but it's not like I did it obsessively. Just when I couldn't think of any other way of taking my mind off a situation. Lots of kids at Lexington's did it.

Here I was, in the middle of nowhere, my body, mind and soul completely and utterly drained. I couldn't do this much longer. Everything, it was just too much, my entire world felt like a frigging snow globe. Shake it up and see what happens.

"Uragh!" I yelled, punching the pavement with a hand.

"Uragh!" I screamed, pounding the ground until my one of my palms was bloody.

I rolled onto my back, breathing deeply. In, out, in, out, breathing until I could think clearly again.

"Do you think this is funny?" I yelled up at the sky. "Are you getting off on watching me screw up again and again?"

But there was no answer, obviously. I hadn't been expecting one.

"Why me?" I asked.

"Why now?" I whispered. "I didn't ask for this, I don't _want_ this."

A calm sensation filled my chest and I knew I was no longer alone. Greaaaat, 'cause I _definitely _wanted company right about now.

"Because the final seals are beginning to break, we've passed the halfway mark. In order to preserve what we must, call upon our full forces." Dean's angel Castiel stood over me, staring down at me in a completely emotionless way. Dang, that dude was intense.

"I'm not a force, I'm just a hunter. A normal, everyday, not-so-special hunter." Maybe if I said it enough I'd believe it myself.

"Many humans," Castiel hesitated as he spoke "Have difficulty accepting the task God has set before them."

I pushed myself up onto my elbows so I could look at the angel more effectively. "There is not a task set before me."

I was just supposed to help people, to guide and protect those who were in need. What was so special about that? Plenty of people had that responsibility; Mediums, psychics, certain angels… And me, a Guardian. But even though I had grown up knowing I was a Guardian, I still wasn't 100% sure what that meant.

"I assure you. You are… Special." Castiel tried to persuade me.

"Special? Does special mean watching people hopelessly die? To fail epically at helping others? To have no free will?" I asked, forcing myself to my feet. My legs swayed dangerously underneath me; they felt like rubber.

"Your obedience is not a curse. It's a gift." He seemed so sure of it.

"Blindly, uncontrollably following people is a gift? Do you know how many people I've hurt because of my 'gift'?"

"Your obedience allows you to follow the word of God. You have no reason to be emotionally indifferent."

"Sometimes," I told him, taking a deep breath to steady myself "A little bit of doubt is a good thing. It allows you to see the world in new light, to experience new things and most importantly, renew your faith on your own terms."

The angel stood unresponsive, his trench coat swaying in the wind.

A bright light suddenly illuminated the otherwise deserted road. I turned, my eye come into contact with a vehicle. I twisted to look at Castiel once again but, this time, he was gone. I couldn't see the color of the vehicle; its lights were shining right at me.

"Miss," I heard a voice asked. Turning around, I came face to face with the last person I wanted to see, especially in my current situation. I think I would rather have faced Cody and Dean right now. A cop; craaaaap life was not fair. "may I ask what are you doing out here at this hour?"

"I'm-" I didn't know exactly what to say. "I'm just going for a run…"

He didn't look like he believed me. "At three in the morning?"

I shrugged, trying to act nonchalant "I have trouble sleeping."

"Could you come over to the car Miss?" He asked, but I wasn't stupid. Sure, it may have seemed like a request, but I knew it wasn't.

I could always run… See how far I could get before I was either gunned down or tackled, considering my legs and head weren't being very cooperative. Okay, gunned down was over dramatic; but, with my luck it would happen.

I walked, or more like stumbled, over to the police cruiser, causing the officer to raise his eyebrows in suspicion. But of what, I had no idea.

"Miss, have you been drinking?" He asked me, bringing up his flashlight and shining it in my eyes.

"What?" I asked, flinching away from the bring light. "No."

"Would you mind taking a breathalyzer test then?"

"Uhhh… I'd prefer not to." I admitted, stepping back slightly.

"If you haven't been drinking, then the test shouldn't be a problem."

I huffed slightly but accepted the breathalyzer that was offered to me. I brought it to me lips before breathing out slightly. The numbers hadn't even appeared on their stupid digital screen before I realized my stupidity.

I _had_ consumed alcohol, two full beers two hours ago. I had been having trouble sleeping so I went down stairs, drank the beers and then went back to bed. What sucked most about what was happening right now was that because I was barely five feet tall and only about 93 pounds, the alcohol hadn't flushed out of my system yet. Or as Sam would say: it hadn't metabolized.

And, judging by the look on the officer's face, my blood alcohol content was high enough for him to take me into custody. Oh this was going to be fun… If Cody didn't kill me first, Dean would.

Of course the situation only escalated when I reflexively stepped back, falling to the ground in my poor attempt to create distance between me and the police officer.

And that's how I ended up locked in an interrogation room, in a police station, at three thirty in the morning with a frigging bandage on my hand. He, Officer Jorgenson had cleaned my hand. He cleaned it and clucked like a mother hen. Adults, strange!

Why did I have to get stopped by the _one_ cop that actually had an IQ? Ok, so that wasn't exactly fair. Riley's brother Luke was a cop, and he was about as smart as they came. Like most families the 'gift' was passed down mother to daughter. So Luke had decided to become a cop, it was his way of helping people. On the weekends Riley and I would visit him in Boston, usually staying for dinner so that we could spend time with his wife and Riley's niece and nephew.

I hadn't even been able to pick the lock on the freakin' door before he had come back in and instructed me to call someone to come pick me up…

So who had I decided to call?

Well, this had been my thought process:

Adam would chew me out before tattling.

Sam, would give me a lengthy lecture on the evils of alcohol before telling Dean and, more out of guilt then anything, Cody.

Cody would just kill me before telling Dean who would resurrect me and then kill me again.

Dean… Well, Dean was Dean. Enough said.

Needless to say, the only logical option I could think of was calling Bobby. Maybe, just maybe, I might be able to convince him to keep my little early morning expedition between the two of us. Yeah, I wasn't stupid enough to expect _not_ to be punished, but whatever Bobby came up with I would gladly take over anything Dean and/or Cody could come up with.

"Miss," an officer said, sticking his head through the now open door. "Your ride is here."

I nodded in understanding before exciting the room, coming face to face with an annoyed Uncle Bobby. He nodded his head to indicate for me to follow him. Uncle Bobby waited until we were in an abandoned hall way before turning around to confront me.

"What in the hell were you thinking Girl?" He asked me, arms raised and an incredulous look on his face.

"Uncle Bobby, I'm sorry-"

"Darn tootin' you're sorry! And…"

"I'm sorry." Addy tried puppy dog eyes. "I just listened to a half hour lecture on freakin' teen alcoholism."

"Here." Bobby shoved a fistful of pamphlets at Addy. Teen alcohol abuse, abstinence, STDS, inhalant abuse, and about ten more. "You realize your little stunt could cause me to lose my contract with the county."

"I'm sorry." Addy hadn't realized that and felt eight million times worse. "I know, it was stupid, it was immature and I shouldn't have done it."

"You idjit, what did ya think was gunna happen? The way you've been acting lately, I'm surprise it didn't land you in a police station sooner."

"Please Uncle Bobby, I _know_ what I did was stupid, but I promise you what I did won't happen again."

"Yeah," He said, nodding his head. "You're right it won't!"

"Just please, _please_ don't tell Cody. He already hates me enough as it is."

"Your brother doesn't hate ya."

"Please." I begged again.

"Alright." He sighed before walking out the exit door.

"Really? You mean it?" I asked, not believing he was actually agreeing. "You won't tell Cody?"

"I don't need to tell him." He told me as he kept walking. "He already knows."

"Hi Addy." My brother said. He was leaning against his truck, arms crossed a nonchalant pose, and a livid expression on his face. "Fancy seeing you here."

I turned to look at my uncle, but he just shrugged. "What did ya expect? It wasn't like I couldn't tell him."

"Let's go Addy," Cody said, gesturing at the truck, an indication that I should get in.

"What about you?" I asked Uncle Bobby.

"I borrowed the Impala." He told me. "Now your brother and you can have a nice long chat without any interruptions."

Oh joy.

"Dean's going to kill you for taking his car." I whispered.

"I doubt that. After all, I helped him rebuild the damn thing." Uncle Bobby muttered as he got into the car and left, leaving just Cody and me in the parking lot.

"What the hell were you thinking?" He asked me, shaking his head slightly. I wrinkled the pamphlets as fisted my hands nervously.

"I just wanted some air." I muttered.

"And you had to do that when you were drunk?"

"I'm not drunk Cody, I had a couple of beers. I don't see the big deal."

"You're fifteen!" He snapped at me. "That's kinda the issue I'm having. You're being self destructive, it may have worked before, but I'm done with your crap. You hear me? _Done_."

"I don't know what to say." I whispered.

"How about you tell me what the hell you were thinking? I know you think running is the only way to freakin' handle your issues, but that doesn't mean you can just take off and get arrested." He told me, running a hand through his hair.

"I was thinking I needed some space," I told him before whispering "I was thinking I needed to get away from you." I was glad I had the colored papers to hide the bandage; it meant one less thing she had to explain.

"I'm sick of your attitude Addy. You drinking at this age, it's unacceptable."

"Really? Because right now I'm recalling a particular incident in Memphis where you not only got drunk, but I'm pretty sure you were stoned. But then again, I was only six at the time and, hey, you were only supposed to be babysitting me. But who knows, I might not be remembering it correctly."

"This isn't about me; it's about you. It's about the here and the now." Cody paused. "Get in the fucking truck!" He yelled before grabbing my arm and throwing me into the vehicle himself.

I sighed deeply, not even bothering to buckle my seat belt as he started up the truck and pulled away. We were about three miles away before Cody noticed that I hadn't put on my seat belt.

Being an older brother, simply telling me to strap in was too much. No, instead of doing it the easy way Cody had to slam on the truck's breaks, causing my head to slam forward and hit the dash board.

"What the hell was that for?" I asked though gritted teeth, clutching my bloody nose as I debated every possible way to killing my brother.

"I was going to tell you to put on your seatbelt, but I've come to realize that the best way to get my point across with you is by demonstration." He explained to me, handing me a napkin. "And watch your language."

"Screw you!" I told him, using the last of the napkin to wipe away the blood as I exited the truck, slamming the door shut behind me.

"Addy, get your ass back in the truck!" Cody yelled at me.

"I repeat," I said, sighing deeply "Screw you."

"I'm getting sick of your attitude problems Adeline," He told me, his voice stern "Get in the truck, _now._"

"You can't tell me what to do."

"Like hell I can't!" He was passed angry now; he was in full out parental mode. "Get in the truck now Addy, that's an order."

And I instantly couldn't walk forward anymore. As much as I loved the fact that my mother's necklace made it so that I didn't have to follow orders unless someone explicitly said that's an order/I order you too, or any other byword thereof, it still sucked when I couldn't control what my body did.

I whipped around, shoving past Cody before getting into the truck and slamming the door shut.

"Strap on your fuckin' seat belt." Cody snapped at me, waiting until I had buckled the two pieces of metal together before putting the truck into drive.

The rest of the drive to Uncle Bobby's was completely silent. Cody shut the truck off and turned around to look at me, the intent of starting a conversation obvious on his face.

"No." I told him, shaking my head before I got out of the truck. Why the hell would I want to talk to him after everything that had happened? I didn't even want to see him, but he wouldn't leave me alone.

"You need to talk to me Addy." He told me, following me out of the truck.

"I don't need to do anything." I told him, not even bothering to look around.

"You can't keep acting like this!" He yelled following me as I walked away.

"Shhh!" I hissed "You're going to wake everyone up."

"I don't freakin' care, they can all wake up. It doesn't matter. I'm sick of you ignoring me when I'm trying to talk to you."

I whipped my body around so fiercely my hair escaped its elastic and my necklace flew out from under my shirt.

"Uragh!" I fumed, untangling the band from my hair. I took a deep breath, using the time it took me to put my hair back up to calm down; through some miracle I managed to keep my voice kind of calm and not yell. "Look, I'm not ignoring you, ok? I just don't know what to say."

Cody walked slowly over to me. He reached out his hand and fingered my necklace, his lips pursing themselves into a straight line.

"What happened to your necklace?" He asked, looking up to meet my eyes.

I stepped back, letting the pendant fall against my skin as I shook my head at my brother's question. "Nothing."

"Nothing?" He asked me, scoffing slightly. "Nothing happened? Do you have any idea how important this necklace is? Whatever the hell happened, I need to know."

"It's my necklace."

"That doesn't mean you know anything about it."

"Because you won't tell me anything!" I yelled at him, going from zero to angry in nothing flat.

"Watch your tone!" He warned. He took a deep breath, breathing slightly before speaking in a much softer voice "Please, I don't want to make you tell me, but I need to know. What happened to your necklace?"

"I have no idea." I admitted, so angry I couldn't figure out my own emotions. I wasn't just angry at Cody; I was angry at the whole world, Cody was just the best target. "I got hit by that car and the necklace that Riley gave me and the necklace that mom gave me just combined. Riley said something about how when the magic from her necklace was released it combined with the magic from mom's but… It's not like mom's necklace had any real magic on it, just the spell that gives me some free will. But even I know that's not enough magic for a protection spell and a charm to combine."

Cody looked away and I knew he wasn't telling me something.

"Whatever it is you're not telling me, you need to." I told Cody as I sighed deeply and tried to keep my cool. I had every right to be angry, every right to ignore him, but, as was the usual case with siblings, no matter what they did, you couldn't bring yourself to completely hate them. It was the reason that, deep, deep, _deep_, deep, deep, deep, down, I knew that someday, most likely, I would forgive Canley for everything that happened between us.

"I can't." Cody told me, shaking his head. "I have to keep you safe."

"And this is how you keep me safe?" I asked him, waiting for his clarifying nod before taking another beep breath. When I spoke again, it was in a deadly calm voice. "Fine, don't tell me. But I am going to figure it out eventually and if it's not from you, then I think that's something we'll both regret."

"What the hell is that suppose to mean?" He looked angry.

"Everyone has their limits Cody, and I'm quickly approaching mine." I warned my brother.

I couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't handle being around him. I turned to leave, making it all of two feet before Cody grabbed my arm with the pretence of turning me around.

"Don't touch me!" I screamed, twisting out of his grasp before hugging myself comfortingly. I stepped away from my brother and, maybe for the first time since we saw each other, he realized more had happened in the last year then he knew.

"Are you scared?" He asked, taking my silences as confirmation. I didn't scare easily, but my memories were possibly the most frightening thing out there. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Maybe if you picked up your phone every once and a while you'd know." I told him, my body shaking in anger. "Considering how many times I called you when I needed your help."

"What are you talking about?" He asked confusion on his face. He had no reason to be confused, what I had told him had been fairly obvious. I needed his help, he wasn't there. That's all there was to it. "You never called me."

"I called you so many times, _begging, _pleading, for your help. And you never _once_ answered, called me back or came to help."

"You never called me."

"Yes I did!"I clenched my fists "Look, I understand why you ignored the calls for the first couple of weeks in some sick proverbial way of teaching me how to stand on my own. But I figured that after the doctors calling you to tell you I was in the hospital that you'd call back. I just guess that after everything you hate me for what I've put you through. I don't exactly blame you but-"

"What are you talking about?" He stared at me, hurt in his eyes. Why was he hurt? He was the one that hurt _me_. "I could never hate you. You're my baby sister."

"Then why didn't you call me back?" I yelled again "Or answer any of my e-mails or my freakin' _letters_. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure that implies hatred."

"Addy, I never got any calls or letters from you. I figured you were angry at me because you never called me back when I called you… It got to the point that I had to contact your frigging _house-mother_ to make sure you were alive and functioning. I know you were angry at me, but you could at least have done me the decency of returning one of the hundreds of voice mails or e-mails I left you."

"You never called. You never e-mailed…" I told him shaking my head. He hadn't, he had never once given me any indication that he cared. He had left me at school and that was it. "I didn't get your calls because you never called me."

"Yes I did." It was his turn to be defensive. "I called you every single day I could, to check in on you, to make sure you were alright…But you never answered."

"Addy," He looked me in the eyes, an indication to me that he was 100% serious "I swear to you, I promise you, I never got any calls or e-mails from you."

"You're not lying." I whispered knowing that whenever my brother lied, he wouldn't look me in the eyes.

"But-but, this doesn't make any sense." I told Cody. If he wasn't lying, and I wasn't lying… "Then why the heck wouldn't we have been able to contact each other?"

"I have no idea. I mean, unless someone was…" He trailed off, a look of comprehension crossing his face. "Crap."

"What?" I asked, not following his train of thought.

"Who do we know that can easily prevent two people from being able to contact each other, even when they're using fake names registered under their phone?" Cody asked and I instantly knew what had happened.

"Angels." I whispered "But why would they not want us to contact each other?"

And when Cody looked away, blatantly refusing the meet my eyes, I realized he knew why.

"Please tell me." I asked, knowing that Cody wasn't going to, no matter what I said.

"I can't Adds." He told me, his eyes begging understanding.

But I didn't give him any.

"Whatever Cody." I told him and, for the second time in less than 24-hours, I left him standing there.

**O~O~O~O~O~O**

The headache and dry mouth she woke to made Addy realize one thing; maybe drinking hadn't been the best idea.

"Uragh." she moaned as she felt around on the night stand for her watch.

"Two thirty!" She fumed, quickly strapping on her watch before getting dressed. Addy haphazardly ran a brush through her hair in a desperate attempt to tame it before giving up completely and shoving it into a bun. Slipping on her shoes she hopped over to her backpack, grabbing and swallowing two Advil before making her way down stairs. Through some miracle no one had come downstairs during the late night yelling match.

No one was in the living room, or the kitchen for that matter. Addy made her way outside, only making it about five feet out the door before her brother looked up from the hood of the truck.

Cody sighed deeply as he rubbed the oil off his hands with a dirty grey cloth. "Glad to see you're up." He told her, his voice calm but eyes filled with mixed emotions. "We need to talk. Get something to eat; we'll talk when I'm done here."

"I get it Cody-" Addy began, only to be cut off by Cody.

"I don't think you do Addy. I may not know what you've been through, but that doesn't excuse your attitude. I've talked with the Winchesters. The crap you've been pulling; we're going to talk about it." Cody was sick of it. He had raised her better than this; he had taught her to respect her elders and their decisions. And here Addy was, ignoring everything she knew, everything she had been taught. And Cody was done with it.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked pretty much knowing what he was going to say; but, hoping he wouldn't.

"It means that there are going to repercussions for your actions. That, and don't expect me or the Winchester's to take anymore of your crap." He told her.

"What crap?" Addy snapped.

"Watch your tone with me young lady!" Cody warned her, narrowing his eyes in warning. "You will treat me and everyone else here, with respect. Do you understand?"

"Yes." Addy whispered.

"Yes what?"

"Yes Sir." She said, even more quietly this time.

"Good." Cody said with a nod before sticking his head back under the hood.

Addy stood there for a minute longer before following the sound of gunshots to a partially cleared area in the yard. Sam and Dean stood by an agitated Adam, who was attempting to shoot the center of bull's-eye target. Which was weird, because Addy had seen Adam hit the center of a target plenty of times.

Adam knew he was out of it. But honestly, he just didn't care anymore. Dean was pushing him and pushing him and pushing him, and he couldn't take it. Who the hell cared if he couldn't hit the bull's eye with every single round? Why didn't it matter if he had trouble pronouncing Latin? It is a god-damn dead language. Because really, who cared?

_'Oh yeah' _Adam thought to himself as he focused on the target '_Sam and Dean do… Dicks._'

All Adam really wanted to do was go to back to school, be with his girl friend, Anne, and hang out with his friends. Too bad a stupid ghoul had made that impossible. You know, considering it had killed his mom and everything. To make matters worse, he had called his dad with some stupid idea that he could fix everything and, well, that had completely back fired on him.

Because instead of getting his dad, he had gotten two wildly over protective older brothers and a completely new life.

In the period of a couple of months he had lost both parents, his chance at becoming a doctor, his home, his sense of normalcy and, his privacy. Because how much privacy could one person have living in motel room after motel room, after abandoned house, day after day, week after week …

Yeah, yeah, he lost all those things and gained two brothers. Which was something that Adam kept reminding himself of, but it didn't always stop the depression. The waves of depression which were consuming him alive. He could put on a happy face most of the time; but, there were days. Days where getting up in the morning took everything he had. Days where all he could think about was sleep. The sleep where you never have to wake up.

Addy was petrified of what was going to happen to Adam if he didn't talk to someone soon.

She sat on the hood of an abandoned car, nodding in greeting as the Winchesters looked over to acknowledge her presence. Sam and Dean raised their hands and waved slightly before turning back to the target; Adam nodded.

"Again." Dean told Adam.

Adam, sighed, readjusted himself into a ready position before raising his gun and firing, missing the target by five feet. Like he cared, he just wanted Dean to get off his back.

"Come on Adam!" Dean yelled at his baby brother as Adam glared down at the gun. "I've seen you fire a flipping' gun before; I know you don't suck this badly."

"Sorry Dean." Adam said, clipping the safety on. "I'm just a little out of it today." Ok, that was a lie. He wasn't out of it; he just didn't wanna _be_ here.

"You're a hunter now; you can't afford to have off days." Dean snapped "Do it again and this time actually hit the stupid target."

Adam was tired, he needed a break, he needed some time to himself… But Dean, being Dean, was pushing Adam to his limit. He was going to break soon, and his brothers didn't even realize it.

Adam rubbed his eye lids exhaustedly before firing the gun once again. This time he missed target completely, the bullet ricocheted off a car and buzzed passed Addy's left ear. That had been close, way too close.

"Um," She said, watching as her cousins turned around to look at her "that was kinda really close to hitting me."

"Ok," Sam said, taking the gun out of his brother's hand "You're done for today."

"Oh, God! Addy," Adam stammered. Yeah, he had wanted to stop, but he hadn't want to hit her. "I'm so sorry!"

"The car was 15 feet away from the freakin piece of cardboard you were aiming for." Dean yelled at his brother. "How the hell did you miss it by so much?"

"Its fine Dean," Addy tried to tell him, knowing how badly Adam already felt "No harm, now foul."

"Three inches over and you would have been hit." Dean snapped back.

Addy shrugged "I've been almost shot more times than I can count. One more isn't that big of a deal."

"God Addy," Adam whispered again "I'm so sorry. I didn't-I wasn't…"

"It's _fine_." Addy told him, doing her best to make him realize she meant it.

"You do realize that what you just said is rather disconcerting, right?" Sam told her.

"What? The fact that I've been shot at quite a bit?"

Sam nodded.

"What the hell do you do during your free time?" Dean asked

"Apparently getting shot at." Adam told his brother, feeling better now that the attention wasn't focused on him.

"Oh shut up." Addy said, shaking her head slightly. "Like you've never been shot at."

"Actually, I haven't." Adam said with a nod.

"Don't worry, I can change that. Give me the gun Sam." Addy said with small, slightly menacing smile. Addy was kidding; Adam knew that… Dean and Sam didn't…

"Um…No." Sam said, shaking his head.

"Empty threat." Cody yelled from under the hood of his truck. He was standing far enough away that Addy assumed he wouldn't be able to hear the conversation that was transpiring.

"What?" Dean asked Cody.

Cody looked up "It's an empty threat. She hasn't used a gun since she was like eight."

"You haven't?" Dean asked her.

Addy rolled her eyes at Dean's question. No, she hadn't; Addy was nine the last time she used one. For reasons that she found logical, it still annoyed Cody, even though _he_ had been the person whom she had accidentally shot.

"Nope." Cody yelled back. "Pretty stupid, I know. Especially because certain creatures, like werewolves, need something silver to the heart to get rid of them. No one's stupid enough to let a werewolf get close enough so they can freakin' stab it."

"Addy is." Adam muttered

For a second Addy actually thought her brother might not have heard Adam. But when Cody threw down the wrench he was holding, she knew she had no such luck.

"What did you say?" Cody asked, walking over to them as he spoke.

"Nothing." Addy insisted, glaring at Adam. "He didn't say anything."

"I wasn't talking to you, Addy." Cody snapped at her before turning to face Adam "What did you say, Kid?"

Adam stepped back, unsure of what to do about my older brother's aggressiveness. But Addy knew one thing; she wasn't going to let Cody talk to Adam like that, he hadn't done anything wrong.

"Stop it Cody!" Addy warned, stepping protectively in front of Adam. Cody saw the look on her face, the determination in her features, and he realized she wasn't going to let him say or do anything to Adam. "He's not the one you're angry at."

Cody opened his mouth to respond, his eyes looking down to meet my own. When their eyes made contact, something changed. For the first time, Cody saw the look in his sister's eyes, the power and wisdom they held, and a look of defeat crossed his face.

"Oh God Addy." He whispered "Please tell me… I have to keep you safe, it's my job to keep you safe."

"No, it's not." Cody looked taken aback by her answer "It's your job to teach me how to take care of myself. For me to do that, you need to tell me why I'm being hunted."

"You have no idea what's going on Addy, I'm doing this to ensure that you have a chance at a normal life. So you can go to school, so you can-"

"Don't you get it?" Addy asked "I never_, never_ had the chance of having a normal life; I never wanted a normal life. I may not be happy right now, but that's only because of all the lies

"You don't understand right now, you might someday, but not right now."

"That's the thing Cody, I do understand." She told him "I understand what it's like to know that you're responsible for keeping someone alive, that sometimes it's better for that person if you just don't say anything. But I also understand that, at some point, you can't help that person anymore and you need to let them help themselves."

"And how do you know that?" Cody asked.

I looked up to meet my brother's stern gaze. "Because that's what you always taught me."

"I can't tell you Addy."

"I can't do this anymore. I'm sick of the lying, the secrets, and your misguided attempts at sheltering me… Whatever you've been trying to protect me from, it's already set into motion and I'm a part of it now."

"No, you're not. Not until you get the knife." He whispered, he hadn't meant for her to hear it. But she had.

"Oh, you mean this knife?" Addy asked, pulling it out and showing it to her brother. He made to touch it, but she didn't give him the chance to before she shoved it back into its sheath.

The knife had a mind of its own, a distinct personality Addy herself didn't even understand. It knew she was its rightful owner, and it wouldn't take too kindly to someone touching it that wasn't supposed to, especially considering what had happened the last time someone had taken it from her.

"When did you get that?" He asked her, desperately.

"Last year."

"How, how did you…" He trailed off "The only way you can get the knife is if you've been using your powers."

"I can't control the fact that I can see ghosts." Addy defended.

"That's not what I mean and you know it." He snapped at her.

"You're right." Addy sighed, running a hand through her bangs "I lied to you Cody; I guess I technically did use my powers."

"What happened?" He asked her. He did his best not to show any emotions, but she knew better, he was worried.

Addy swallowed slightly, trying to think of the best way to express what had happened. But instead of coming up with some satisfactory answer, she could only think of one thing to say. "I brought my best friend back from the dead."

"Come again?" Dean asked and Addy just sighed.

"I told you that I'd healed people before." She explained, crossing her arms defensively.

"Somehow I think you healing someone and you bringing someone back from the dead are a tab bit different." Dean snapped.

"I'm sorry; I just didn't see what the big deal was." Addy admitted.

"The big deal? Let me tell you something Kid-"Dean fumed.

"Dean," Cody said, interrupting him before he could really get started. "Now isn't the time."

Dean turned to look at his younger cousin, giving Cody a look that implied he was insane. Dean wanted to chew me out; he wanted to scold Addy, to take control, to establish her boundaries... But Cody was her brother.

As much as that annoyed him, Dean knew he should step back... Should being the operative word, because he wasn't. Instead he turned to look at Cody, nostrils flaring and eyes filled with anger.

"Then when _is_ the time?" He asked "Because now seems like the perfect opportunity, considering how much your sister seems to love lying!"

"Dean." Cody warned "Not. Now."

For a second Addy thought Dean was going to full out tackle her brother to the ground and, judging by the way he tensed up, Cody thought so too. They were both about to lose it. Dean because he wanted to resume his position as alpha dog in the pack; and that I was now a part of his pack. Cody because he wanted Dean to back off and realize that _he_ was in charge of me now.

It was frightening, it was amusing and it was going to, sooner rather than later, push both men over the edge.

"Fine!" Dean yelled, punching the hood of a random car. "Fuckin' fine! Do whatever the hell you want. It's not like it's my business anyway."

Dean swore again before stalking off, but Addy knew he wasn't going too far. Regardless of what he had said, Dean did think she was his business and he wanted to hear whatever Cody was going to say next.

"Addy," Cody said calmingly as he stepped closer to her. Addy stepped away, not wanting him to come closer to her after the argument they just had. Though he was visibly hurt, Cody did his best not to show it before he sighed deeply and continued. "What happened?"

"What do you mean?" Addy asked, knowing exactly what he meant, but she had no desire to relive that horrible memory.

"You said you brought you best friend back from the dead. What happened?" Cody asked her delicately.

"Riley got stabbed. I healed her, that's about all there is to it." Addy ran my hand through her hair, biting my lips as Cody shook his head.

"Addy," Cody rubbed the bridge of his nose as he spoke "Please."

"Fine!" She snapped, taking a deep breath before I recalled one of my worst memories.

**July 2008**

_"Uragh!" I fumed, absentmindedly punching the 1967 Ford Thunderbird in my anger. "How long does it frekin' take to say goodbye to your boyfriend?"_

_"Hey!" Jase yelled "Hey,hey,hey,hey! Don't take your anger out on my car! It's a classic!"_

_"This car isn't a classic. Now, a 1967 Chevy Impala, that's a classic." I smiled, crossing my arms in smugness._

_"You're biased." Jase defended "The only reason you're saying that is because you grew up with the Impala that your uncle had."_

_"Oh come on! You saw that car plenty of times too! Your dad was one of Uncle John's main contacts." _

_"Still, this car's a classic." He said, looking fondly at the cherry red car. It was his pride, it was his joy, and it was his home on wheels. Jase was a hunter, born and bred. Over the years his father had reluctantly allowed him to handles his own basic hunts and since then he had traveled around the country dealing with whatever he could, whenever he could. Over the past four months I had been at school, Jase had shown up on more than one occasion to deal with a supernatural problem and had reluctantly accepted Riley and my help._

_It was because of this, he was currently in Boston._

_"I think I'm gunna throw up." I said, faking gagging noises._

_"It's ok Baby," Jase patted his car affectionately "She just doesn't understand our love."_

_"Your love, I can understand. Riley and Brice's... Seriously, we told Ri to meet us out side in five minutes...That was twenty minutes ago. I'm not sure I want to know what they're doing."_

_"She just wants to say goodbye and make sure Brice knows she cares about him, considering we are about to face down a shapeshifter. Besides, it's not like you've been in a relationship before so you wouldn't really understand."_

_"Ok, first of all, she doesn't need to say goodbye, she's going to see him again in a couple of hours. It's just a shapeshifter, no way in hell am I going to let anything happen to Riley, or you for that matter. Ever. Second, I have been in a relationship before. I'm even in one right now."_

_"Oh yeah." Jase said "What's his name? Brian?"_

_"Ryan." I corrected, rolling my eyes._

_"I think I should meet this kid." He said, in a voice that implied I really didn't have a choice._

_"Jase," I tried to consul, but he didn't give me the chance before interrupting me._

_"What? Can you really blame me?" He asked "The last guy you dated was an ass hat."_

_"Jase!" I protested._

_He stared at me, not really sure he understood what I had said. "Are you defending him? Addy, the first time I met the douche I walked in on him slapping you across the face."_

_"It's not like I was going to let him get away with it." I snapped back, only succeeding and making Jase angry._

_"He broke your arm!"_

_"And you broke his!" I pointed out "Then you dislocated his shoulder...Then you cracked his ribs and broke his nose!"_

_"I didn't break his arm." He sighed._

_"Ok, so you fractured it...They're the same thing!" _

_"What do you want me to say? That I'm 'sorry' I defended you? That I didn't let the douche bag hit you again?" He fumed before taking a deep breath to calm himself down. "Look Half-pint, I care about you, I really do, and I'm not going to let anyone hurt you. So if you're not going to trust me enough to let me know when someone's hurting you, then I'm not going to trust you enough to believe you when you say your fine."_

_Crap...That was Jase for you, stubborn, hardheaded and very protective of people he cared about. He wasn't going to let anyone hurt me while he was around, least of all myself. Yes, I had been dating someone who was abusive. He had occasionally insulted me, something I had brushed off whenever he apologized and insisted he wouldn't do again. But the particular incident Jase was referring to was an exception. My ex had lost it and, in a blind rage, he had broken my arm and slapped me right before Jase walked in. _

_Jase had looked from me, to my boyfriend before he had lost it completely. Needless to say, after that incident my boyfriend became my ex-boyfriend and Jase had given me a three hour long lecture about taking care of yourself before he had made it clear to me that no one, no one should ever be allowed to hit me like that again._

_"Let's go get that sonofabitch!" Riley exclaimed, running up behind me and jumping onto my back. _

_I stumbled forward, laughing as I regained my balance. "Hey Ri, nice of you to join us."_

_"Aww, Addy!" She said, hugging me so tightly I was actually having issues breathing "You missed me didn't cha?"_

_"Terribly." I said sarcastically as Riley released me._

_"It's ok! We're going to be living with each other for the whooooooole summer!" She pointed out "Considering my mom decided it was ok for you to live here until school starts up again. But don't worry, we're totally rooming together again next year!"_

_"Glad to hear you two are so close." Jase said with a laugh "Now if you don't mind, we have a shapeshifter to kill."_

_The ten minute ride to our destination was quite. All three of us knew what we were doing, all three of us were ready...But that didn't mean things couldn't go south._

_"Alright," Jase said, rummaging through his trunk. "I'm assuming you know how to handle a gun Riley."_

_"Yeah," Ri said, rolling her eyes. "I'm a witch, not an idiot."_

_"Good to know." Jase couldn't help but laugh as he handed Riley a gun undoubtedly filled with silver bullets. "Half-pint, you want a gun or a knife?"_

_"A knife." I answered, shaking my head slightly. I didn't use guns. And, considering he had been there periodically throughout my childhood, Jase knew that too._

_"One of these days the slowness of a knife is going to get you killed." Riley told me, accepting the gun Jase offered her._

_"Yeah, yeah." I sighed, grabbing a silver knife from Jase before he shut the trunk._

_We stared down at the open pot hole, each of us thinking the exact same thing._

_"Do we have to do this?" Riley asked, just as eager as I was to explore the wonderful sewers._

_"It's killed five people so far." I reminded her._

_"And a surprise attack's the best way to do it?" She asked_

_"Yep." Jase ensured her._

_"Fine." She sighed, following Jase down the ladder._

_I followed suit, dragging the metal cover back over the hole before dropping to the floor. _

_"Riley." I said, deterred by the darkness that consumed the tunnels._

_"Erif." She said raising her hand. A small fire ball erupted, enough to show us where we were going, but not enough to alert the shifter we were in the tunnels. _

_We navigated ourselves through the tunnels, ever cautious as we followed the trail of dis-guarded skin and teeth to the shifter's layer. _

_"Stay here." Jase told me, as he walked stealthily forward, slowly pushing open a door, ever cautious of what may lay on the other side. _

_"Jase!" I hissed, angry at the older boy for pulling rank. It was stupid, him going into a random room in a shapeshifter's layer by himself. _

_There was no response from the other side of a door...Which was a good and a bad thing if you thought about it. _

_I turned to face the open corridor, keeping guard to ensure nothing took us by surprise._

_"Riley." I said, a weird feeling sprouting in my stomach. "Put the fire out."_

_She complied and, just to be safe, I grabbed her shirt and pulled her protectively behind me. _

_"Addy, what's going on?" Jase asked, emerging from behind the door as a flash of silver lashed out towards me. I stepped back, doing me best to get out of the range of the knife. The blade cut against my skin, drawing blood as I stumbled backwards onto Riley. _

_"Shifter!" I yelled and Jase instantly drew his gun, firing it at the now retreating form._

_"Damn it!" Jase swore as a clicking sound sounded, indicating that he had emptied his clip. I got to my feet, ignoring my bleeding arm as I ran after the shapeshifter. "No, Addy! Stop it! Damn it!"_

_But I didn't stop. Five people, five innocent people were dead because of this thing. There was no way in hell I'd let that number become six. Ignoring Jase's yelling I ran down the tunnel. It was just one shapeshifter; I'd taken out plenty of shifters in my lifetime. How hard could it be?_

_I scurried up the ladder, instantly preparing myself for an attack. I dodged the first fist that came after me, barely managing to bring out my own knife as I ducked under the shapeshifter's attack. _

_"Addy!" I heard Riley call from the pot hole. It was a distraction not meant for myself. The shifter's attention faltered for a moment, but that's all I needed. I brought up Jase's knife, sinking it deeply into the creatures flesh, stabbing it in the heart. _

_It fell to the ground, obviously dead. _

_"Stupid shifters." I muttered, trying to wipe the blood off on my pants. My hand slipped and ended up dropping the knife, it bounced, landing fifteen feet away. I didn't bother to retrieve it._

_"Thanks Ri." I told my friend with a smile "You're the bomb."_

_"I know I am!" She said, walking over to examine the body. "I think it's dead…"_

_"That's what usually happens when you stab them in the heart." I pointed out. "Where's Jase?"_

_"He stayed behind to check something out, said something was weird and he was going to look into it but it wouldn't take a while and he'd be up in a couple of minutes."_

_"Did he say what it was?"_

_"Nope."_

_"There's Jase for you." I muttered, turning around just in time to see a figure drop off the roof of a nearby building. No human could have made that fall and been alright._

_"Riley! Look out!" I screamed, running toward my friend. _

_But it was too late. By the time I reached her, the figure had already picked up the knife I had dropped and stabbed it into her back._

_"Riley!" I yelled as she fell to the ground. I caught her, doing my best to stifle the blood flow with my hands. "Riley! Oh, God. Riley."_

_I heard a gunshot and watched as the shadowed figure fell to the ground, obviously dead._

_"Addy," Jase yelled, running over to me. "What happened?"_

_"She was-it's just…" I didn't know what to say. "What was that?"_

_"Another shifter, there were two of them. Mates by the look of their nest." He answered, obviously kicking himself for not saying anything. _

_"Ri, you're going to be ok." I told my best friend "We're going to get you to a hospital and you're going to be fine!"_

_She didn't answer. Her blood continued to flow and I took off my jacket, pressing it against the wound._

_"No Ri!" I yelled slapping her cheek slightly as her eyes began to droop shut. "Don't you dare close your eyes on me!"_

_She didn't respond and I began to shake her._

_"No! No, no, no, no!" I screamed. I needed her to wake up, she had to be alright, she couldn't be…No, that wasn't even an option. "I need you Ri! I need you! You saved me, I don't know what I'd do…I don't know how…"_

_Jase grabbed my hand and slowly tried to pull me away from my friend. _

_"Stop it!" I yelled, struggling against Jase. "We have to help her! She needs our help!"_

_"She's gone Half-pint, she's gone." He soothed, still pulling me away. But he couldn't, if he pulled me away then I couldn't help her._

_"No! She's not gone!" I told him, forcing myself out of his grip and towards my friend once again._

_"No!" I yelled as Jase grabbed me around the waist and started off towards the street. _

_"I'm sorry Adds. Your yelling most definitely alerted some civilians. We can't risk staying around." He told me as I continued to fight him. I needed to help her. She'd be able to help me; she was always able to help me. So now I had to help her. I didn't know how, but I had to do something. "Now stop struggling. That's an order."_

_My body instantly relaxed and Jase continued carrying me towards the car. _

_"Why would you do that?" I asked him "Why would you order me like that?_

_"I'm sorry Half-pint, you know I hate to." He told me "But sometimes you don't leave me a choice."_

_I knew Jase wanted to keep me safe. He felt responsible because he was older, more experienced and therefore responsible for me. I knew why he did it, but as soon as he let go of me, I ran back to Riley anyway._

_"Ri," I whimpered as I knelt down beside her. "I'm so sorry."_

_I reached out, touched her hand, and that's when everything changed._

_I was standing in the middle of a cobble stone path surrounded by trees and benches. The whole appearance reminded me of Central Park in the fall. I looked up at a brightly colored, constellation filled sky that instantly made me realize that I was most definitely not in Central Park, as much as it looked like we were._

_"What the hell?" I muttered, instantly turning around when I heard footsteps behind me._

_"Addy?" Riley asked her face showing she was just as confused as I was. "Where are we?"_

_"I don't…I'm not sure." I whispered. I looked once more at the path set before us before turning around to face my friend once again. _

_She wasn't there and neither was the Central Park themed path. Instead masses of beautiful flowers and bamboo surrounded me._

_"What the fu-"_

_"I see little Riley Evens is friends with a Guardian." A tall African American man appeared before me, smiling deeply as he looked me over. "But you aren't like any Guardian I've ever seen. For one thing, you are a girl. Girls aren't commonly born into this destiny." _

_"Ok," I said taking a deep breath "All I keep hearing about is me being this guardian thingy, what is a guardian?"_

_He let off a soft chuckle before speaking "You mean, who is a Guardian?"_

_"Sure." I said, shrugging my shoulders "Who is a Guardian?"_

_"You are." The man said in a tone that implied it was obvious_

_'Gee' I wanted to say 'Thanks Mister!'_

_"And what exactly does that mean?" I asked "People keep telling me I am one, but I don't know what that means."_

_"It means," He told me "That you guide the living, speak for the dead and guard all."_

_"…Ok…Which means?"_

_He smiled again "I'm Joshua." He told me, completely ignoring my question._

_"Alright Joshua," I said, redirecting my focus. He obviously wasn't going to say anything. "Where are we?"_

_"Heaven." He answered simply. _

_"But if we were in heaven that would mean…" I hesitated "Am I dead?"_

_"You, no. Your friend, yes."_

_"Riley's dead?" I asked, my voice coming out in a whisper. _

_"I'm afraid so." Joshua told me, flashing me a sad look._

_"But she can't be dead. I need her." I told him. "I don't know who you think you are, but you can't have her. Not yet anyway."_

_"I am an angel of the Lord Adeline." Joshua answered; I wasn't exactly surprised that he knew my name. Angel's were incredibly annoying, always sticking their noses into other people's businesses. "And I know, I don't want to take Riley away from you."_

_"Oh…Um…Ok." _

_"The reason you are here," He told me "Is because you are coming to a point in your life where you have a choice to make. You can either continue as you are, a lone hunter with no real purpose. Or you can chose to make a difference, to help people and by doing so embrace your destiny. "_

_"Which is?" I asked him, hoping for an answer._

_"Something you yourself must discover." He responded "But either way, you can chose to ignore what I'm telling you, take your friend and go back to your life and not change. Or you can remember my warning and use it to guide yourself in times of trouble."_

_"I don't understand." I admitted. _

_"Just remember this; not many people are given the ability to give others second chances. Your friend will live because of you. And because of that, your life as you knew it is now over." He reached out, touched my forehead and a white light consumed me._

_"Where the heck did you go?" Ri asked me as I turned around to look at her._

_"The Wild Goose Pagoda…" I muttered "When the heck did you go to China?"_

_"When I was like nine, my mom took me there to do some family research. How the heck did you know?"_

_"No reason." I muttered, not really interested in sharing what the heck had just transpired. _

_"Yeah, ok." She said, shaking her head. "So how do we get out of here?"_

_"I'm not sure." I admitted "Maybe if I…"_

_I trailed off before lifting up a hand and gently pressing my palm against my best friend's forehead._

_A flash of white light erupted and I was instantly slammed back into my body._

_"Oh God." I moaned, everything freakin' hurt. _

_Riley sat up, gasping desperately for air. She grabbed her back, the place where just minutes before blood had been streaming out from._

_"What the hell?" Ri demanded, looking around as she tried to remember what had just happened._

_"Ri, you're ok." I whispered as my body was consumed in another wave of pain, exhaustion and darkness. I collapsed completely, knowing that everything was about to change. I had seen heaven, I had met an angel, and I had brought my friend back from the dead. _

**O~O~O~O~O~O~O**

**April 2009**

"You're been to heaven?" Adam asked Addy incredulously.

"Yeah, to save my friend." She responded, nodding her head slightly.

She turned around to look at her brother. His face was pale, his body shook slightly.

"I guess this changes everything." He whispered, running his hand through his hair.

"Cody?" Addy asked, wondering what he was talking about.

"Not now Adds." He whispered before turning around. "This wasn't supposed to happen. You weren't supposing to…"

And, not for the first time, Cody walked away from her, leaving Addy wondering what the hell was going on. rundown


	14. Welcome To My Life

**I'd like to give a quick thanks to Hicks07, MissGuenever, Ashcrash44 and everyone who reviewed last chapter. I really appreciate it! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural**

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_You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them. ~Desmond Tutu_

It was hard to comprehend just how much one simple year had managed to change my sister and me. I'm not sure when, or even how, it happened, but Addy didn't seem to need me on the same level as she did before.

I used to be her everything, her go-to guy and most of all, her big brother. Christ, I raised her. Not anymore, now I was just a stranger to be avoided, some person who was thought of on occasion, almost as if she were trying to cast away all memories of me. To make matters worse she was become incredibly self destructive, something that would take place periodically through her childhood. At these points in time, Addy seemed to forgo all common sense, doing everything in her power to misbehave just for the hell of it.

It wasn't usually me who made it stop. Mostly it was either Uncle John. I hoped she would just stop, that she would realize that there was no need to act out. But just hoping never did anyone any good.

There was no one else to take care of her. Sure, there was always Dean… But he didn't seem to understand that Addy is my sister, not his. It hurt more then I could possibly express, seeing her trusting them as she avoided me.

Growing up my mom had always told me that good things happened when you least expected them to. I guess she had to be right on some level. After all, Addy had been the greatest surprise in my life.

My little sister hadn't exactly been planned. So was one of those incredibly pleasant surprises no one, and I mean no one, saw coming until it actually happened.

As, I watched Addy roughhousing with Adam through the upstairs bathroom window, I was completely and utterly mesmerized at how different she had become. I couldn't help but think back to the day she was born. The day my parents and Uncle John had talked to me about, explaining how important it was to keep Adds safe.

But they didn't need to tell me that, I am her big brother after all.

**O~O~O~O~O~O**

"_Mom!" Fourteen year old Canley yelled, running down the stairs with a frustrated look on her face. "Cody's been in the bathroom for 20 minutes! I need to use it too! We're going to miss the bus!"_

"_Canley," Sarah, her mother, coaxed, standing up and wincing slightly as the stabbing pain shot through her side once again. "Tell your brother I said to hurry up."_

"_Cody!" Canley yelled, running back up the stairs, passing her uncle John on the way up "Mom said to hurry your ass up!"_

"_Language!" Both John and Sarah yelled up at the teen._

"_Makes you want to have a couple more of them, doesn't it?" John asked with a small smile._

"_Yeah, well," She responded, wincing as the pain shot through her again. "Unfortunately for me that isn't possible. Some demons saw to that one."_

_A loud crash sounded over head._

_Sarah took a deep breath, doing her best to calm her already pinched nerves._

"_Both of you," She called up to her children "Get down here. Now!"_

_Footsteps sounded before both children descended the stairs, pausing in front of their angry mother, their blue eyes refusing to meet their mother's green ones._

"_Now," Sarah sighed "I'm only going to say this once. Both of you will finish getting ready for school, you will grab your backpacks, you will catch the bus and there will be no more fighting. Do I make myself clear?"_

"_Yes ma'am." They whispered._

"_Good. Now go up stairs and finish getting ready. But please don't break anything, Bobby'll skin me alive if he comes back from his hunt and his house is in shambles, Again."_

"_When are him and Dad getting back, Mom?" Cody asked, looking up at her eagerly. Sarah couldn't help but smile. Both Canley and he looked so much like their father. They both had his blue eyes, his dirty blond hair and his height. Neither of them had inherited her red hair, green eyes or petite frame._

"_Dad and _he_." She corrected with a smile._

"_When are Dad and he getting back, Mom?" Cody corrected himself, knowing his mother wouldn't answer his question until he had done so._

"_Later tonight; they'll be home by the time you two are back from school. After that, your dad's found a hunt a couple of states over, we're going to check it out."_

"_Mom," Canley protested. She hated hunting. Absolutely hated it. All she wanted to do was go to school, to get a real education and to make something of herself. "We just started school here; can't we at least finish up the semester?"_

"_Hunting is a-"_

"_Hunting is a family job." Canley finished her mother's sentence for her "I know, I know. I figured I'd ask anyway."_

_A horn sounded in the distance, haling further conversation._

"_Go!" Sarah told her children, ushering them out the door with a wave of her hand. "And take care of each other!"_

_Canley grabbed up her backpack, swinging it onto her shoulder "Love ya Mom! You too Uncle John." She said before running out the door._

"_Yeah, what she said." Cody nodded before grabbing his bag and following his sister._

"_Peace and quiet." Sarah sighed, trying to ignore both the stabbing sensation in her stomach as well as the feeling of emptiness in her heart. She hated when her children were out of her eye sight, even if it were only for school._

"_For now anyway." John laughed "That girl of yours sure has a mouth."_

"_And your boys are much better?" Sarah smiled._

"_My boys know better than to talk back to me." John replied._

"_I'm their mother, not their drill sergeant." Sarah defended._

_He just nodded. He knew it was true. If Mary were alive, things would have turned out differently. Much differently. His boys would have a happy, smiling, doting mother. He'd still be a mechanic and have the love of his life with him._

"_I'm sorry John," She apologized, pushing a strand of her hair out of her face. "That was out of line."_

"_How long until they get home?" John asked, ignoring his sister-in-law's comment._

"_Six or seven hours, though Canley usually stays after for extra help. Desperate to get into college that one, much to the chagrin of her father." _

"_Mike's still dead set against her going away to college?" John asked._

"_You know my husband. Doesn't like the idea of his little girl leaving him. He doesn't have anything against school; he just wants to make sure she's safe." Sarah answered. Truth be told, she hated the idea of Canley leaving too. Ever since she had walked in on her six year old daughter and one yellow eyed demon, Sarah had changed. She had realized that the supernatural world wasn't playing fair anymore._

_It was at that point that John Winchester had reached a mutual agreement with his brother and sister-in-law. For some odd reason this demon wanted something from his Sammy. It was willing to kill anyone, even his family and friends, to make a point to John. The encounter with Canley and Yellow Eyes had been close, way too close. A minute later and Canley wouldn't be alive._

_That had been the moment that made John agree to sever all ties between his children and his niece and nephew. Dean and Sam wouldn't remember Canley and Cody, and Canley and Cody wouldn't remember Sam and Dean._

_Except, neither set of parents had taken into consideration that both Canley and Cody were psychic. If they had, they would have realized that neither of the Noel children had the capability of simply forgetting something as important as cousins. Still, their parent's had decided contact was too dangerous and, as much as it annoyed the two children, they would have to abide by their parents decision._

"_Yeah." John sighed._

_Sarah opened her mouth to respond before another stabbing sensation brought a groan of pain to her mouth._

"_What's wrong?" John asked, instantly concerned. This was his wife's sister, she was his family, it was his job to look out for her._

"_Nothing, it's nothing." She said, trying to brush it away with a wave of her hand._

_John wasn't fooled, especially considering the way she was clutching her stomach in pain._

"_Do you want something for the pain?" He asked cautiously. Sarah was one tough woman, she could handle a fair amount of pain. Whatever the hell was going on with her, it wasn't nothing._

"_No, I'll be fine. It's just-" A flash of pain swept through Sarah's system. She clutched her stomach protectively. "A stomach bug." She finished as soon as the wave passed "I'm sure of it."_

"_Here." John fished around in his pocket, pulling out two aspirin and holding them out in his palm. "You're not helping yourself if you're like this."_

"_No." She protested._

"_Sarah!" John couldn't hide the annoyance in his tone. He had shown up at Bobby's unannounced three days ago and discovered Sarah and Mike there. Mike had taken him aside, explaining that Sarah was acting strangely and he was wondering if John could please, please stay a couple of days and make sure she was alright._

_John had obviously agreed. Besides, he needed to use Bobby's library to do some research anyway._

"_I don't want them John!" The women yelled back. Yelled, Sarah didn't yell. Ever. It didn't matter how angry she was at her husband or even her kids. She didn't yell. Not that she needed to. One look from Sarah Campbell-Noel when she was angry and you were instantly cooperative._

"_What aren't you telling me?" John demanded, using a tone similar to one he'd utilize with his sons._

"_Nothing." She snapped back before groaning in pain._

"_Cut the crap Sarah." He snapped back "What aren't you saying?"_

"_That I already took something for the pain an hour ago." She responded, wiping away a bead of sweat that was trickling down her forehead._

"_Alright." John said, knowing what he had to do. She was having trouble standing, whatever the hell was wrong with her; it was too far gone for him to do anything. "Let's go."_

_He walked over to Sarah and wrapped an arm around her waist to help support her weight._

"_Where are we going?" She asked, doing her best to help walk on her own._

"_Where do you think?" John snapped, placing Sarah into the passenger seat._

"_John," She said, rocking back and forth in an attempt to distract herself from the pain. For a second he thought she was going to protest, that she was going to come up with some lame ass excuse for why she didn't need to go to the hospital. But she didn't "Step on it."_

_He didn't need to be told twice._

_Avery-McKenna Hospital was a usually twenty minute drive from Singer's Salvage Yard. A ride John managed to make in nine minutes._

"_Help!" He yelled, carrying Sarah in bridal style. The pain was too much, she couldn't walk. "I need some help here!"_

_A medical team rushed over and John delicately relinquished Sarah to a gurney. Sarah grabbed her stomach and let out a scream._

_Before John knew what to say she was being wheeled away. He made to follow, only to be stopped by a member of the staff._

"_I'm sorry Sir," He told John "No one's allowed past this point."_

"_John! Please, the kids, Michael." She managed to yell before the swinging doors hid her from view._

_He didn't need to be told twice. John called Mike first, briefly updating Mike on his wife's medical condition before hanging up. There was no doubt in John's mind that Mike would be there as soon as possible. He didn't call the school, there wasn't really a point. What was he going to do? Have them release Canley and Cody so they could end up waiting in a hospital with no idea about what was going on?_

_No, John would wait until he himself knew what was going on._

_Time passed, minutes, seconds, hours…But still no one came to talk to John._

_Was Sarah alright?_

_John and Mary had taken Sarah in after her parent's had died. They had raised her from the age of fifteen until she had gone off on her own when she turned eighteen. It was because of this that Sarah was more like an actually sister to him, rather than just a sister-in-law._

_He had never really understood why Mary had protested against her sister leaving when she finally became an adult; he had never really understood why Sarah had randomly appeared back in his life after settling down in Lawrence with a husband and a new born either._

_At least until Mary died. Sarah had been there for him, she had helped him come to terms with existence of the supernatural and had even explained to him that, in her younger years, his wife had been a hunter. Not long after John left Lawrence Sarah and her husband moved on as well, knowing that establishing a permanent home after everything that had happened with her sister wasn't going to be possible._

_It was because of this, John felt slight guilt over the fact that Canley and Cody had never been able to experience a normal life. That yellow eyed son-of-a-bitch wanted to make a point to John, a point he was choosing to make by killing off his friends and family. John had tried to stay away; he really had. But it hadn't worked, he needed to see his niece and nephew, he just had to._

"_John Winchester?" The voice of an orderly snapped him out of his thought process._

"_Yeah?" He asked, standing up and ranging his hands nervously. _

"_We were able to get your sister-in-law help immediately. There was some excess bleeding but nothing we couldn't stop. There's nothing to worry about."_

_John sighed in relief._

"_Both Mother and Baby are doing fine."_

_Wait… did he just say? What the-_

"_Did you just say 'mother and baby'?" John asked._

"_Yes," The orderly flipped open his chart and examined it briefly. "Sarah Campbell-Noel, admitted, gave birth to a baby girl."_

"_Are you-"John just shook his head "Can I see Sarah?"_

"_Sure, take the elevator up to the third floor and she'll be in room 312." _

_John didn't bother thanking the man before running to the elevator. Sarah _couldn't _have given birth. For one thing, wouldn't she notice if she were pregnant? But that wasn't the thing that bothered him the most._

_He had been there, nine years ago when Sarah had come back from the doctors with the knowledge that, after a demon attacked her, she had too much uterine scaring to have any more children. John had watched as Mike held her as she cried something Sarah almost never did._

_So that meant she couldn't be pregnant. That stupid orderly didn't know what he was talking about._

"_Sarah?" He called, pushing the door open._

_She was crying, sobbing more like it._

"_They took her John." She choked "I didn't even get to hold her. They took her and I couldn't… I want my baby!"_

_John was stunned; he didn't know what to say. A baby. Another niece…_

"_Sarah, it'll be alright." He said, rubbing her back as she cried. "I'm sure they're just checking her out to make sure she's alright."_

_They waited until a nurse came in an hour later holding a small form wrapped in pink blankets._

"_Here she is, all 15 inches, five pounds and 2 ounces of her." The nurse smiled as she handed the little baby girl over to Sarah. Sarah grabbed her daughter, hugging her close as a tear slid down her cheek. "You're lucky, other than her being a little small, she's perfectly healthy."_

"_But she's not crying!" Sarah said in a panicked voice "She wasn't even crying when she first came out!"_

"_Some babies don't cry. But don't worry; I'm sure she'll cry when she's good and ready." The nurse flashed Sarah a smile before leaving the room._

"_I need to call Michael." Sarah said, smiling down at the precious baby in her arms._

"_I already called him." John answered, looking at mother and daughter. "Looks like she's gunna be a red head."_

_Sarah laughed, a new stream of tears spilling down her face "She's going to be beautiful." Sarah looked up at John, a serious look on her face "Do you want to hold her?"_

_He hesitated, wanting to say yes but knowing Sarah would have trouble relinquishing her. Before he got the chance to say anything she sat up, placing the baby in his arms. John grabbed the baby reflexively before looking down into her wide eyes._

_The baby looked up at him, her big eyes staring up at him. There was something wrong with the way she looked at him. Her eyes held intelligence no baby only hours old should have. But John couldn't help it, he smiled._

"_I'm glad she likes her godfather." Sarah said simply._

"_Sarah, I can't…" John protested without feeling._

"_Please." She whispered, and that's all John needed to nod in agreement._

"_Sarah!" A worried gruff voice called before throwing open the door._

_Michael Noel pushed the door open, panting as he looked around the room._

"_What the hell?" He asked, looking at John and the baby in his hands._

"_Congrats, Daddy." John said with a smile, walking over to his best friend and handing him the small baby._

"_You were pregnant?" Mike said, looking down at the precious thing in his hands. "Why the hell didn't you tell me?"_

"_I didn't know." Sarah admitted "I didn't gain any weight; well other than five pounds. I didn't have any weird cravings, I haven't gotten my period in years so… I guess stuff like this happens. But, to us?" _

"_A baby?" Mike rocked his newborn daughter up and down in his hands._

"_A baby." She smiled at her husband. Mike walked over to his wife and sat next to her on the bed. He leaned over, kissing her on forehead before looking up at John._

"_Could you, could you go get the kids?" He asked "I think they should know about this."_

_John nodded at his friend before leaving the room._

"_Isn't she beautiful?" Sarah asked, picking up one of the baby's tiny fist._

"_She is." Michael answered as a sudden gust of wind caused both adults to look up._

"_Hi there!" A middle aged, balding man wearing a suit said with a menacing smile._

_Sarah reflexively grabbed her daughter out of her husband's hands, using her body to shield her from the supernatural creature. Michael stood up, placing himself in front of his wife and newborn as he pulled out a vile of holy water and splashed it on the man._

_Nothing happened._

"_Well, that was entirely unnecessary." The man said as he wiped the water away from his face. "Is that any way to treat someone who's here to help you?" _

"_What the hell are you?" Mike demanded, a snarl crossing his face._

"_I'm Zachariah, an angel of the Lord." He said "And I'm here to talk to you about her." He pointed at the small child in Sarah's arms._

"_Like hell you are. There's no such thing as angels." Mike growled._

"_I wouldn't be so sure of that." Zachariah said before lightning flashed and the dark silhouette of wings appeared behind the man._

_Both adults hesitated. Angels, in all their years of hunting they had never once encountered angels. But in the world of hunting, seeing was believing._

"_Now, as I was saying," The man continued, clapping his hands together once "I'm here to talk to you about your daughter. She's special, very special. That's why you couldn't know you were pregnant with her; we didn't want to risk the demons catching wind."_

"_Anything could have happened to her, she could of-"_

"_Relaaaaax." He cut Sarah off "You think we'd go through all this trouble of keeping you in the dark without taking certain precautions?" _

"_What's so special about her?" Sarah asked, never taking his eyes off the strange man._

"_You," Zachariah balanced on his heels and pointed to Sarah "Don't need to know that. Not yet anyway." _

"_So you're just going to tell us that there's something special about our daughter and not elaborate on it?" Mike demanded "We're her parents."_

"_Exactly!" The Angel turned his attention to Michael "If I say anything to you you'll just get so worried about 'what could happen' and 'how we can keep her safe'." He rolled his eyes._

"_You're not exactly calming our nerves." Sarah snapped._

"_Just know this." Zachariah said, his face suddenly completely serious "You slip up once, you fail to protect her, and she belongs to us."_

_Sarah hugged her new born closer to her chest. No one, not even an angel of the Lord, was going to take her baby girl away from her. Ever._

"_Now," Zachariah said with a smile "Now that we've got that settled… Just remember, we'll be watching."_

_The angel snapped his fingers and was gone._

"_What are we going to do now?" Sarah whispered._

"_Stick together, watch out for each other and keep our children safe." Her husband answered as he rubbed her back affectionately._

"_Mom!" Canley yelled, running into the room. "A sister, really?"_

_Cody filed into the room, followed by John who was gripping the boy's shoulders tightly. Cody looked down, refusing to meet his parents gaze._

"_What happened?" Sarah asked cautiously._

"_Well," John sighed "I didn't need to go to the school to get them. They were already here, being detained by hospital security."_

"_Why?" She asked in horror._

"_I saw Mom. I was in class and I just knew…I got Canley and we came here, but they wouldn't let us in. So, we snuck around but got caught…"Cody tried to explain._

"_We got caught?" Canley laughed "You got caught. I just played along to save your sorry little butt." _

_Cody punched his sister. Canley punched him back. Before the situation could escalate Michael cleared his throat, halting his children's antics._

"_Is that her Mom?" Canley asked with a smile on her face._

"_It sure is." Sarah answered._

"_What's her name?" Canley bounced eagerly over to her sister, taking in her small body and the big blue eyes that all babies seemed to have._

"_She doesn't have one yet." Mike admitted. "Do you have any ideas?"_

"_I think we should break the C theme, 'cause all three of us with names that start with C would just be cheesy." Canley said with a shrug. "What about Abigail? Abby for short?"_

"_She doesn't look like an Abby to me." John imputed "More like an Addy."_

"_John," Sarah said, looking up tenderly to meet the older man's gaze. "I know it was Mary's name, but she's not here anymore, so…"_

_John felt a slight pang in his heart. He loved Mary with every fiber in his being, but then again, so did Sarah. He nodded once, and indication that he was surrendering all rights and privileges to that name._

"_You want to name her Adeline?" Mike asked his wife._

"_The name Adeline means 'noble', it seems fitting for her." She looked down at her daughter "Are you an Adeline?"_

_The baby let out a soft whimper, the first sound she had made yet._

"_I'll take that as a yes." Mike said with a smile._

"_So it's settled, Adeline Mary Noel." Sarah whispered_

"_Campbell-Noel." Mike corrected._

"_We can't hyphenate her last name, that would be way too long. The only reason I kept my name was to honor my parents." Sarah protested._

"_And the only reason I want her to have both our last names," Michael explained "Is because I want people to know she's ours. Not yours, not mine. Ours."_

_Sarah sighed, knowing she was going to lose this battle. She wasn't supposed to be able to have any more children. Her husband just wanted the world to know that Adeline was as much her daughter as she was his._

"_Alright, now that we have a name picked out, do you two want to hold her?" Sarah asked her children_

"_Yeah!" Canley shrieked at the same time Cody responded "No."_

"_What's wrong Son?" Michael asked._

"_Nothing." He lied, refusing to meet his father's gaze._

"_Cody…" Michael warned._

"_I don't want a stupid baby, least of all a girl." Cody admitted with a sigh._

"_Look, Son," Mike could understand his son's reluctant. When Canley was four she hadn't exactly been pleased when she found out the baby growing in her mommy's tummy was a boy, but at least she had been given enough time to warm up to the idea of a younger sibling. Cody hadn't. "I know it's hard, but Addy is here to stay. She's your little sister, do you know what that means?"_

"_What?" Cody asked._

"_It means she needs you." Michael told his son "She needs someone to look after her when your mother and I aren't around. Can you do that for me?"_

"_I dunno…" Cody admitted sheepishly._

"_Come here Honey." Sarah said to her son, gesturing for him to sit next to her on the bed. Cody took a seat next to his mother and new baby sister._

_His mother handed him the small pink form and he timidly reached out for her._

"_No fair!" Canley protested "I wanted to hold her first."_

_John reached out and gently smacked his niece upside the head, an indication for her to stop talking._

"_Maybe Canley should hold her first." Cody said, pulling back his hand. "Besides, I don't think we'll like each other." _

_Sarah smiled before handing Cody his sister._

_Their connection was instantaneous, so obvious and apparent to everyone in the room. The moment the two Noel siblings made contact, Addy began to cry, her small little fists stretched outwards to her big brother. Cody's eyes softened, his body relaxed, but something inside him changed._

_This little thing, his little sister, was so small, so fragile. She was his, he was hers, and he would never let anything happen to her. Ever._

My cell phone's blaring ringtone snapped me out of my day dream. I sighed, frowning down at the unfamiliar number. This couldn't be good.

"Hello." I answered, rubbing my eyes with the back of a hand.

"Mr. Noel?" A stern voice asked.

"Speaking." I admitted, shaking my head slightly.

"My name's Margo Lester, I'm with the academic advising department here at Lexington's Academy. You are your sister's legal guardian, correct?" The women asked.

"Yes." I growled, hoping this conversation wasn't going in the direction I thought it was.

"Then I'm calling to inform you on your sister's current academic standings."

Crap, this couldn't be good. Addy, what the fuck did you do now?

**O~O~O~O~O~O~O**

"Come on Adam!" I gloated, laughing as the older boy lunged at me and missed terribly. "Afraid to get your butt kicked by a girl… Again!"

"Shut up Adds!" He tried to punch me, something I easily blocked.

"Now you're not even trying." I told him, throwing my own punch at him.

He ducked under my arm and, before I know what was happening, kicked my feet out from underneath me.

My hand shot out reflexively, stopping my fall but scraping up against the rusted metal of a car in the process. The cut poured blood, halting our little fighting match in the process.

"Addy I'm so-" Adam tried to apologize but I cut him off.

"Adam, I've been trying to get you to knock me on my ass all day. You finally did it," I shook my head slightly "That's nothing to apologize over."

"But the blood…" He trailed off at the sight of it trickling down my arm.

"That tends to happen when a person isn't paying attention. It's not that big of a deal, I just need to clean the cut out now." I answered, walking back into the house, Adam following behind me.

"What the hell happened to you?" Dean asked as I entered the kitchen.

"Ninjas came out of nowhere… I didn't stand a chance." I admitted with a shake of my head.

As soon as I was within arm's reach Dean slapped me upside the head. "Cut the crap."

"She was teaching me how to throw a punch and, well, I ended up knocking her to the ground and she cut herself on some metal." Adam explained.

"Is that true?" Dean asked me.

I nodded and smiled "See Dean! You have a brother after all!"

Sam let off a small laugh before Adam punched her playfully.

"Alright," Dean sighed "Let's see that arm of yours."

I hesitated, knowing that for Dean to look at my arm I'd have to take off my sweatshirt, taking of my sweatshirt meant Dean would get a perfect view of the road rash on my arm and the bruises my brother had accidentally given me from when he grabbed me two nights ago. I'd explained away the cuts on my hands as having tripped. I'm not sure they bought it; but, they hadn't questioned it.

"Nah, it's fine." I said shrugging as I tried to brush off his watchful gaze.

"Come on Kid," He said standing up from his place at the table and walking over toward me. He motioned for me to stick out my hand to him. If Dean saw my cuts and bruises I'd have to give him an explanation, one I knew he wouldn't like at all. "Let me see it."

"No." I told him, hugging my arm closer to my chest.

"What did you say?" He asked me, one eyebrow raised "I know you didn't just talk back to me."

"Dean, my arm's fine. I'm just gonna go to the bathroom and take care of it myself." I shrugged, trying to walk out of the room.

But he didn't let me. Dean grabbed my arm in a tight grip. "You have 10 seconds to take this jacket off before I take it off for you."

"I told you already! It's fine; I don't need your help!" I yelled.

Big mistake. Dean's eyes flashed with anger before going flat. He reached out, grabbing the zipper on my fleece and pulling it down. In one swift motion he grabbed the sleeve that held my injured arm and pulled it off. Before I could even register what had happened, Dean had completely pulled off my fleece.

"What the hell…?" Dean asked.

"Did you fall when you went running?" Adam asked, looking at the cuts I had received from hitting the ground with my hands. Adam hadn't been there when Dean had forbidden me from taking early morning runs, so I couldn't exactly blame him for saying anything. That didn't frigging mean I wasn't going to be pissed at him for tattling on me. Didn't the boy know when to keep his mouth shut! I glared at the stupid pamphlets I'd tossed on the kitchen counter last night. They'd hidden the palms of my hands from Cody; crap, why hadn't I thrown them out.

"When did you go running?" Sam asked, trying to think back to a point in time where I had gone running recently during the day… There hadn't been one. Sam realized that, and so did Dean. No dummy, the Winchesters.

"Tell me you didn't Kid." Dean said, his eyes closed "Please tell me you didn't."

I didn't answer; I didn't even look at him. I looked down at my shoes hoping to fall into a hole in the floor. Maybe one would open up for me. A portal to another universe would be really nice right about now.

"So what? You thought you'd just take off and go for an early morning run, even though I specifically told you not to?" He demanded.

"What's the big deal? It was just a run!" I asked.

"This isn't about running and you know it. This about the lying! I _know_ you have issues trusting people, but how am I supposed to be able to trust _you_ when you keep acting like this?" He asked, yelling in my face. "Huh?"

A blush crowded my cheeks and Dean instantly knew more than just running had occurred on my early morning expedition.

"Kid!" He stated sternly "What aren't you telling me?"

"Nothing." I stammered. Dean reached out and slapped me upside the head.

"Like hell it's nothing." He yelled "Now start talking Kid."

"I ran into some… Issues." I admitted with a shrug.

"Issues as in supernatural issues?" Sam asked.

"No, issues as in Smokey Bear issues." I whispered, looking away from my family.

"Smokey Bear," Dean asked "As in cops?"

"As in 'cop'." I corrected

"Why did you have trouble with a cop?" Dean demanded after taking a deep breath.

"He saw me when I was taking a rest," I couldn't explain it, but I had a feeling that telling the Winchesters about my interaction with Castiel wasn't the best idea. "He came over to talk to me… And then he took me to the police station."

"Why did he take you in?" Sam's voice had an edge to it. Unlike Dean he'd gotten really quiet which worried Addy.

Addy shuffled her feet. "Mmmm… Uhhh…"

"Now!" Dean snapped.

"Underage drinking."

"You were drunk?" Adam asked, giving me an annoyed look. Yeah, I got it; he thought I was a hypocrite.

"I wasn't drunk." I kicked my feet against the floor before looking up at the scarily calm faces of the Winchester brothers. "I just had a couple beers."

"That's it Kid." Dean said, his voice holding the tone of an ultimatum. Maybe he finally got it; maybe he finally understood that I wasn't meant to be part of a family. Hopefully he'd finally just give up. But Dean was a Winchester, and Winchesters were too stubborn to get the picture. "We can't trust you, fine. Then we're not gonna give you a chance to break that trust again."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked cautiously as I looked Dean up and down.

"It means that you've earned yourself a one way ticket to Hunter Boot Camp. You wake up, you eat breakfast, you go to school, you eat dinner, you do chores, and then you go to bed. That's it. Say goodbye to alone time Kid, because that's something you need to earn back." Dean said his mouth stretched upward in an angry smile.

"You can't-" I started to protest before Dean cut me off.

"Actually I can Kid." Dean shook his head "See, if your brother wasn't here right now, your ass would be mine. It still might, if you keep this attitude up."

I opened my mouth to say something but thought better of it. Sam looked up from the counter, he'd followed Addy's gaze to the corner and was reading through the pamphlets.

"Good idea." Dean said with a nod. "Now come here and let me look at that cut of yours."

"Well that explains these." Sam interjected, waving the stupid brightly colored pamphlets.

Dean looked over at Sam, saw the pamphlets, looked at me and saw me hesitate for a second. Dean whistled and jerked his head, an indication for me to hurry my ass over to him. I grudgingly complied, letting Dean thoroughly clean and bandage it.

None of us spoke; none of us said a word, partially because we didn't know what to say, partially because we were afraid one word could shatter the already tense mood.

In the end, it wasn't any of us that broke the long stretch of silence, it was my brother.

"Adeline Mary!" Cody screamed, his voice carrying down the stairs and into the kitchen.

I stiffened, my body releasing adrenaline into my bloodstream at the sound of my brother yelling. A fight or flight response, too bad my body hadn't decided on which yet.

I was halfway to the front door before Dean even realized I had moved. I heard him curse at the same time I heard my brother descending the stairs. There was no way I was going to make it out the front door.

Turning around I made my way to the back door, only to be stopped by Dean who stood two feet in front of it, arms crossed and a scowl on his face. He shook his head once.

"Move Dean!" I hissed, more afraid of my brother then Dean at this point.

"Ain't happenin' Kid." He told me, noticing the panic in my eyes.

"Adeline!" Cody yelled again as he walked into the kitchen, clutching his phone dangerously in his hand. Crap, twice with the full name. This wasn't good.

"Yes?" I asked, doing my best to keep my voice from shaking.

"Your room, _now_." He hissed, pointing behind himself and to the stairs.

"Nah," I said, backing up slight when Cody's eyes narrowed in rage. "I'm pretty good right here."

"Now." He said once again. I felt a hand on my back as Dean pushed me forward slightly.

"I think it's best for my personal safety if I establish are rather large quantity of space between our two corporeal forms," I said trying to sound authoritative, as I backed up into Dean "Primarily due to your current emotional state which appears to be quite volatile."

"You're only making affairs worse for yourself, young lady." Cody warned.

"Yeah well," since talking didn't work, I resorted to my time-proven sarcasm "I'd rather make 'affairs' worse for myself then talk to you."

Cody let out one un-amused laughed before walking forward, clutching his cell phone in his hand "Your school just called me."

"Godonlyknowswhereville Public High School. I turned my Hamlet paper in before we left." Oh crap, I was screwed I knew he was talking about Lexington's; but, I felt the need to try and get out of it. Just one more time.

"No. Lexington Academy."

"Look, Cody," I tried to explain "I didn't mean to blow up the septic tank. I mean, I guess I knew flushing a chunk of sodium down the toilet wasn't the best idea but…" I trailed off at the look on my brother's face "You didn't know about that, did you?"

"No," Cody shook his head as he stepped even closer to me. "No I didn't know about that. What _else_ did you do at school?"

"A lot of things." I said, taking a step to the side; and being halted by Dean's hand on my side. Crap, this sucked. "Went to classes, did homework, played soccer…" I shrugged nonchalantly. "The usual."

"The usual." Cody scoffed "Okay then. Does the usual include not getting above a D in any of your classes and getting into fights?"

I thought about it for a second "Ummm… Yes."

Cody took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a second before speaking to me in a deadly calm voice "This is your last chance to get to your room before we do this with an audience."

"Do what Cody?" I asked

"You know what Addy. Dad wouldn't let you get away with this crap and Uncle John would have tanned your hide a long time ago! What made you think I'd let you get away with this?" He asked me

"Look, Cody," I said, standing my ground "I've had _way_ more important things to deal with in the past year that didn't include school. And yeah! Of course I got into fights! I'm pretty sure when someone full out attacks you in the hall you have a right to defend yourself!"

"You broke the kid's jaw!" He yelled at me "You know better than to behave like that. You were supposed to lay low, you were supposed to behave. Did you do _anything_ I asked you to do?"

"He punched me first; I don't see what the big deal is." I told him

"You fractured. His. Jaw." Cody repeated slowly. "Fractured his jaw."

"And?"

Cody rubbed his jaw angrily before speaking once again "The schools sending over the work you missed and you're going to do it. All of it."

"Why?" I asked him "Why? There's no point! I'm not even going there anymore!"

"Because you're failing the year Addy! The entire year." He yelled at me "You're going to have to repeat your sophomore year. It _will_ get it done, do you understand me?"

"Why? So I can graduate? Go to college?" I asked "Well guess what Cody! That's not my future! No way in hell am I going to do that stupid work."

"I'm not saying you need to think about going to college yet, but you _will_ graduate."

"There's no point! I'm not going to learn anything in school that's actually going to help me in the real world!"

Cody hesitated for a minute before he looked away from me, impatience in his eyes. When he next spoke, his words hit way below the belt. "They'd want you to finish school, Adds." He whispered "They'd want you to graduate."

My parents were a taboo topic amongst us. Something I'd never discussed; something we'd never discussed. With anyone. Ever. Cody felt this way too. Except when he wanted something, he knew how to use them against me. It sucked; freaking sucked. It was totally unfair; he doesn't have the right to use them against me.

"Don't you _dare_ talk about them!" I screamed, walking over to my brother and shoving a finger into his chest. I lashed out with my hand, using it to knock over the stack of dirty plates on the counter. They hit the floor and broke. God, that felt good. I picked up a random glass and threw it against the wall, I could feel my anger leaking out as the glass shattered into a hundred pieces.

"Hey." Cody soothed, grabbing me and holding me close. "Hey, hey, hey."

"Don't touch me!" I shrieked, punching his chest as I desperately tried to get out of his hold. "Don't you dare touch me! Let go of me!" I yelled even louder, clawing at his arm as I struggled against his relentlessly tight hug. "Leggo of me! I don't want you! I hate you! I hate you!"

Cody sank to the floor with me in his still in his grip. He started rocking back and forth, trying to help me get it out of my system. But unlike with Dean, it didn't feel soothing; he wasn't calming me down. I wasn't going to let my feelings out. I wanted out of his arms.

"I don't want you here!" I yelled at him "Leave me alone, please, just leave me alone."

I let my body go limp, trying to trick my brother into a false sense of security.

"I'm always going to be here for you, baby sister, always." He whispered to me.

"No." I told him as I tried to push away again "Just let me go. I don't need you. I don't need anyone. I don't want anyone. I don't want you!"

Cody flinched at the hatred in words. I could tell my words hurt Cody; I never knew that words could hold such a physical presence. Good, maybe then he'd understand what I was feeling. But still he didn't let me go. I needed to get away from him; I couldn't be around him anymore.

"I said let go." I repeated clawing and biting at Cody's arm, only satisfied when his grip faltered and I was able to get away. I didn't even think; I just ran for the front door.

"Addy, no!" I heard Cody yell, but I didn't listen as I desperately yanked at the door handle.

It was locked; it even had one of those stupid locks you needed a key for even though it was on the inside. It didn't matter; I tried to open it anyways.

"Addy, you can't keep running like this." Cody told me, his face painted with love, frustration, and worry.

"No!" I turned around, gripping my hands together in a fist. "I can't take it anymore, I just can't do this. Open the door!"

"I'm sorry Addy," He didn't sound sorry at all. "But you're staying here."

"Let. Me. Go."

"Please don't make me order you Addy.".

"You can't make me do anything." I snapped at Cody as I pushed past him and headed towards the back door. I didn't care if I'd have to fight Dean for a way out. I couldn't stand being here anymore, I couldn't take it.

"Addy," Cody said before taking a deep breath. "Go to your room, and don't even think of leaving it until I come up there. That's an order."

"Bite me!" I hissed before walking up the stairs and into my room, slamming my door shut behind me.

I stood in the center of the room looking at the flowered wallpaper, pacing back and forth as I ran my fingers through my messy hair. I knew what was going to happen to me, not that it made it any easier. If anything the anticipation made it worse. Sure, I had been spanked during my childhood. I think most kids who have parents that are hunters get spanked. I had friends in school whose parents never touched them; they did time outs and stuff like that. Riley's parents had never spanked her. Jase's dad on the other hand, he was like my family. Screw up and you should expect to get upended over a knee.

Getting punished always seemed to end with me sobbing hysterically and begging for the spanking to stop; it didn't matter if it was Dad, Cody, Uncle John, or Uncle Bobby. I hated getting spanked; I guess that was their point. It was humiliating. It made me feel about five years old. Why couldn't my family be civilized; be more like Riley's?

Cody didn't even bother knocking before he pushed open the door and walked into my room. He looked at me, and I looked at him.

"Come on," He said, running a hand through his hair "Let's just get this over with."

"I didn't do anything wrong!" I told my brother as I defiantly stood there, playing with my hands behind my back.

"Really Addy?" He asked me, eye brawls raised "Because this right here," he gestured in between the two of us "Is exactly why we're here right now."

He walked over the edge of my bed and sat down, gesturing with a finger for me to come over to him.

"Cody, I don't think…" I protested

"Don't make this harder on yourself Adeline." He warned "Either you come over here, or I come over to you. And that's not going to end well."

I hesitated for a second longer before walking over to my brother.

"Drop 'em." He ordered firmly, the hurt and disappointment showing in his eyes. Cody wanted to do this about as much as I did.

I fingered my belt, haphazardly. Cody sighed in annoyance before unbuckling it and pulling down my pants. He grabbed me around the waist, pulling me over his knee. My legs were trapped between his and I struggled to make myself more comfortable as the first swats landed.

The smacks continued raining down on my butt; and I started struggling, even though I knew that it would make the whole thing last longer. But, I couldn't help it. Cody had a hard hand!

"Stop it." He told me, smacking my butt a little harder than before.

"Why is this happening Addy?" He asked me.

"I don't know." I snapped, earning me an even harder round of smacks raining down on my sit spots. Okay, so maybe right now wasn't the best time to be disrespectful. I bit my lip, taking out my pain and frustration on it rather than by yelling out. Blood trickled off them and hit the floor, drip, drip, drip. It pooled with my spit and they swirled together in a small shapeless blob on the wooden floor. I tried to focus on the non interesting puddle of blood rather than the blistering pain Cody was raising on my behind. I wasn't going to start crying.

Just don't think about it that would make it better. It always did. Yeah, right.

"Adeline Mary," My brother said in a stern voice as he placed down more sweltering blows on my behind. "You listen to me because I'm only going to say this once. This ends now. The yelling, the lies, the running, the smart-ass attitude, the disrespect to your elders… Why are we here now?"

"Because of the way I've been acting." The words slipped out of my mouth before I even realized I was talking. I just wanted it to stop. "Because I haven't been listening to anyone."

"And?" He asked as he continued. I tried to squirm as inconspicuously as I could towards the edge of his knees, intending to throw myself to the ground. But Cody was my older brother for a reason. He just pulled me closer to him. "I can do this all day Adeline."

"The disrespect, the not listening, the disobeying." I continued "Breaking the rules, getting caught by the law. And putting others at risk." A low whimper escaped my limps and I realized I was going to have trouble sitting for a long time. "Please Codes;" I begged, using my childhood nickname for my brother "Stop. I'll be good I swear."

"Not until I know you're going to cut the crap. I need to know I can trust you, the Winchesters need to know they can trust you!" He barked. My hands desperately pushed against my brother's legs, trying to establish some distance between my brother's relentless blows and my sweltering behind.

Cody grabbed my hands in one of his, easily trapping them against my back. "Damn it Addy! Don't you get it? Neither of us wanna be here right now! Do you think I'm enjoying this?"

"You're the one who's hitting me!" I yelped as my brother continued to spank me.

"Why do you think I'm spanking you Addy?" He asked me in between blows.

"Because I'm untrustworthy!" I whimpered, squirming under my brother's hold.

"Do you think that's the only reason?"

"I don't know!" I admitted my voice cracking as I spoke. Tears started to drip out of my eyes.

"I'm doing this because I'm supposed to keep you safe. Dad told me to keep me safe, he told me I needed to protect you." Cody told me "Do you know how fucked up it is that I can keep you safe from the supernatural world, but I can't protect you from yourself?" He asked me "I know a lot happened at school, but if you keep acting like this you're going to get yourself killed. And I'm not going to let that happen."

"Cody, please, just stop!" I begged as the ringing smacks continued. My lips quivered as I tried to hold in my whimpers of pain; unwanted tears dripped from my eyes.

"Not until you understand the point I'm trying to make, Adeline. This crap," Cody exclaimed "Ends now! What's gonna happen if we're hunting and you don't listen to one of us? You won't even follow basic instructions when no one's life is on the line."

"Well, what am I suppose to do?" I sobbed desperately as my brother continued "You left _me_! I had to take care of myself. You left me; I had no one! Now everyone expects me to do everything they want! What about what I want?"

"I know it's hard. But that doesn't excuse your behavior. You were brought up better than this." He told me, trying to hide the pain in his voice. "Are you going to keep acting like this?"

"No." I whimpered, tears leaking out of my eyes. "No, I promise. I promise! Stop, please, just stop!"

Cody landed a few more swats after that, enough to express his authority. It was a message. A very clear message: 'I'm the adult, you're still a kid. What I say goes'. A message I received loud and clear by the time he stopped and helped me stand before pulling up my pants up for me. I didn't want to bend down, my butt was too sore.

"It's gunna be ok Adds. I forgive you. Just do your best, follow the rules, and listen. That is all we ask of you." Cody tried to comfort my uncontrollably shaking body. He reached out and tried to pull me into a hug like he used to when I was little. I pulled away, not wanting contact with him.

It was stupid; I kept trying to tell myself that someone full out abusing you was completely different from someone spanking you. It didn't help though. Even if what my brother had done was out of love, he had still hit me.

"Don't touch me." I whispered, hugging myself in a futile attempt to comfort myself.

I could tell my reaction was killing him; Cody just wanted to hug me, to try and tell me everything would be ok; and that I was forgiven. But I didn't want him to.

I navigated myself over to my bed, lying down on my stomach before burying my face in a pillow. My butt pounded.

I felt the bed sink down next to me, I didn't even need to look up to see that Cody had sat down next to me. He reached out a hand, using it to rub small circles in my back. Inching away from my brother I whimpered slightly. "Please don't touch me." I begged.

The circles stopped and Cody pulled his hand away. "I love you little girl; you're my baby sister. I need to keep you safe." Cody told me, leaning down and kissing me on the head.

He left after that, and I was left alone for what I knew would be the last time for a long while. Dean had told me my days of privacy were over and I wasn't stupid enough to think he was lying.

I rolled onto my side before I curled up into a protective ball. I wished I were able to talk to Riley, to call her, text her, or even e-mail her. But I couldn't. Cody had taken away my laptop and put restrictions on my cell phone so that the only people it would contact were the Winchesters, Bobby and himself.

I was still crying. I brought up a finger, catching the liquid on my finger tip. Bringing my finger up to my eyes, I examined it closely. I could physically examine the tear; I wished examining my feelings and explaining them to Cody were as easy.

"Why is this happening to me?" I whispered to myself.

**O~O~O~O~O~O~O**

I closed my sister's door softly shut behind me, doing my best to swallow the lump that had formed in my throat.

Spanking Addy was always really difficult for me to do. I'd done it before; and I'd probably have to do it again; but, that didn't make it any easier. I loved Addy more than any person could possibly understand. I couldn't blame her for being angry; I couldn't blame her for her trust issues… But I could blame her for the way she'd been acting, the way she had been hurting herself.

Leaving her behind at school had been the hardest decision of my life. After losing Bela, the love of my life, my fiancé and the wife of my unborn child, I was erratic and out of control. I hadn't just lost her; I had lost the family the two of us had made for each other.

I was going to be a dad; Addy was going to be an aunt… But once again the demons had screwed that up for me.

So I couldn't be blamed, could I? For looking at my sister and being overwhelmed with all the crappy things that could happen to her. Of course knowing Addy had a major role to play in the appending apocalypse didn't exactly help the situation.

The vision of Lilith slowly torturing my sister had been the last straw. I couldn't let that happen to Addy, I just couldn't. So I left her at that boarding school, I told her to be safe, I told her to look after herself… I'd actually ordered her to look after herself. Not that it really mattered. Whatever the hell had happened to my sister had seriously fucked her up.

Still, I couldn't let her continue on her path of destruction. I had to do what I could.

Not that it made anything easier.

I wasn't one for crying, neither was Addy for that matter, so whenever tears did escape it was for good reasons.

At least that's what I told myself as I wiped away the tears that had fallen from my eyes.

I walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. The Winchester's conversation ceased as soon as I entered the room. Freakin' awkward.

Dean nodded his head once, an acknowledgment that he understood what I was going through. Sam wouldn't look at me, but Adam would. He more like glared up at me, a stubborn look on his face. I could tell he cared for my sister; that he wanted to keep her safe. I did too, not that that little tidbit of information would make either of us feel any better.

I grabbed a beer out of the fridge before untwisting the cap off of one of them and throwing it into the trashcan. I walked back past the Winchesters and out the front door and unlocked it before positioning myself comfortably on the porch swing with Rumsfeld at my feet. Bobby's dogs were always good company.

And there I sat until Sam stuck his head outside to tell me food was ready. Dinner was quiet even though there were five of us. Bobby had finally come back from his afternoon of 'pickin' up the crap ever freakin' house needs', his words not mine, but Addy didn't join us. I had gone up to get her, only to see her curled up into a small ball, a sure sign she was asleep.

My sister, with her glowing green eyes and dimples, had single handedly inserted herself into the ranks of the Winchester family.

We ate spaghetti, cleaned up, and then everyone went their separate ways before going to bed. Addy and I usually shared a room when we stayed at Uncle Bobby's, but considering how jumpy she'd been lately I figured giving her some space would be a good idea. So, instead of a nice, comfortable bed I was camped out on the couch.

Not that it mattered, as soon as my head hit the pillow I was asleep.

**O~O~O~O~O~O~O**

It was two thirty a.m. when the screaming awoke me. I sat up, grabbing my gun from underneath my pillow before bounding up the stairs.

The door to Addy's room was already open. Adam and Bobby watched from the corner as Sam held my sister's wrists to the bed and Dean desperately tried to secure her kicking feet. She was fighting them tooth and nail as her screams continued. Both hunters looked scared, unsure of what to do. My sister may have been small, but right now she was putting up one hell of a fight.

"What's going on?" I asked placing the gun on a wooden dresser before walking over to the bed.

"Nightmare. Actually it's a night terror." Sam explained before one of Addy's hands slipped from his grasp. Using her newly freed hand she flailed around, trying to get Dean to let go of her feet.

"She's still asleep." Dean yelled as he dodged my sister's thrashing hand. "Sam."

"Has she had dreams like this lately?" I asked as I took Sam's place and grabbed her hands. No wonder Sam and Dean were holding her down, she was going to hurt herself.

"Nightmares, yeah, but nothing like this." Dean explained "Jesus Christ!" Dean swore "What the hell is wrong with her?"

My sister hadn't had nightmares this bad in years. Not since Dad gave her Mom's necklace, the necklace that kept all her powers under control.

I guess whatever the hell had happened to the necklace had screwed it up enough so that it didn't contain her powers like it had before. Mom's necklace did more than protect her from her obedience; it kept her body at a state where she could control her abilities.

Whatever the hell had happened at school had superseded the spells on Mom's necklace. No wonder Addy had been so frigging moody lately, she had no idea what was going on with herself.

I wished I could sit her down and tell her everything, what being a Guardian meant, why I left her behind and most importantly, why Canley left.

But I couldn't. Dad had given me one job, protecting Addy and, much to my annoyance, in his and Uncle John's opinion that meant keeping her in the dark.

Addy shrieked again her body kicking upwards as she fought against my hold.

"Wake up Addy, that's an order." I whispered into her ear.

Her eyes flew open but her struggling didn't subside; if anything it got worse.

"It's okay Adds, it was just a dream. You're safe, you're alright." I soothed, as she relaxed slightly. She was breathing deeply and erratically, her eyes held no hint of understanding as they darted around the room, looking for any means of escape.

"Dean, don't-" I tried to warn him but it was too late. The second his grip relaxed she kicked out of his hold before twisting her legs around and kicking me in the stomach. I stumbled backwards slightly. I could see the look in her eyes; I could almost feel the adrenaline running through her system. She didn't recognize me; she didn't recognize any of us. She was reacting purely on instinct.

Her eyes locked on the bedroom door and she bolted for it, dodging under Sam's arms and around Bobby a she headed for the door. Adam did his best to stop her, God bless his soul, but he was no match for my sister. Addy brought her fist outward, jabbing Adam in the kidney. The kid fell to the ground in pain, managing to trip Addy in the process.

She stumbled forwards, as she ran towards the stairs. It slowed her down enough so that I could easily catch her.

I slipped an arm around her waist, picking her up off the floor as she started shrieking.

I let her scream, I let her claw and bite at me, but I didn't do was let her go. I was going to have some nifty bruises tomorrow.

She went limp again, but unlike before I knew it wasn't in some attempt to run away. She was done, consumed, finished.

I knew what to do; I had done it on more than one occasion growing up. I picked her up bridal style and brought her into the bathroom. Still holding my sister I got Bobby to start filling the tub.

"What are you doing?" Dean asked from the door way.

"I'm snapping her out of it." I sighed.

"And you're doing that by drowning her?"

I looked over at Dean, he was staring at me, not sure if he should let me continue or protest against what I was doing.

Not giving him the chance to do either, I shut off the water before standing up and dropping my sister into the tub.

Her eyes flew open and she sat up, coughing up water.

"Hey," I soothed, reaching out a hand toward my sister. "You ok?"

"Is he gone?" She demanded pulling away from my hand. She was shaking uncontrollably.

"Is who gone, Addy?" Sam asked.

Addy blinked, looking around the room and realizing where she was before she shook her head. "No one." She whispered as she clutched her stomach desperately "No one."

"Don't worry Kid." Dean said soothingly "He's gone."

My sister nodded, excepting Dean's answer without protest. "Good." She said with a nod "Good."

"What's wrong with your stomach Addy?" I asked her.

She didn't look at me; instead she reached out a hand and pulled out the plug, watching the water as it drained out of the tub. Her fingers played with the remaining water in the tub, her wet clothes clung to her body and her hair was plastered to her face. She looked more like a five year old rather than a 15 year old.

It was at that very moment I understood how scared Addy really was.

"Come on Adds," I said standing up. Whatever had happened to her, I could wait. She'd tell me when she was ready. "Let's get you into some dry clothes."

I extended a hand, expecting my sister to flinch away. Instead she reached out both her arms. I didn't even think about it as I leaned down, hugging her close as I picked her up. Addy wrapped her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck before burying her face in my shoulder.

Her body was shaking out of fear, or maybe cold… I wasn't sure.

"I'll put her to bed." I told the Winchesters and Bobby. "You guys go back to sleep."

I didn't wait to see their reaction; instead I walked into Addy's room, gently shutting the door behind me. I placed Addy on the bed before grabbing a change of clothes out of her bag and handing them to her.

"Here you go Baby Girl." I told her softly.

She looked at me and I nodded understandingly before turning around, giving my sister her privacy as she changed.

"Ok." Addy muttered, indicating that she was done changing. I turned around, looking down at my sister as she absentmindedly played with a sleeve on her shirt.

"You better now?" I asked her.

She nodded, biting her lip slightly.

"'Night Addy." I told her with a small smile before I turned around.

A tugging on my sleeves made me look back at the bed.

My sister's eyes were filled with water, her mouth was pulled down into a sad frown and she was holding my sleeve desperately.

"Please don't go." She whimpered.

I smiled down comfortingly down at my sister, "Don't worry Adds, I'm not going anywhere."

She nodded appreciatively before making room for me on the bad. I lay down next to my sister, rubbing her back in an effort to soothe her still shaking body.

"It's okay," I told her "you can go to sleep. No one's going to hurt you not while I'm around."

I saw her nod; for once she was listening.

"_Sweet Adeline,_" I sang the lyrics to the song by The Mills Brother. The song my mother would sing my sister every night as she paced back and forth, trying to get Addy to fall asleep. After Mom died, it was me who took over Addy's bedtime routine, singing her the harmonious words in my deep, off key voice.

"_My Adeline,_

_At night, dear heart,_

_For you I pine._

_In all my dreams,_

_Your fair face beams,_

_You're the flower of my heart,_

_Sweet Adeline."_

I sang to Addy until she fell asleep, her body curled into a tight little ball.

It was only then, when I knew for a fact that she was safely asleep, that I let myself join everyone else outside for a beer. A beer sounded great right about now; the dramas of teenage girls were hard to comprehend.

"She better?" Dean didn't even look up from the flickering fire.

"I wouldn't say better, just asleep." I sat down on old car, accepting the beer Bobby offered me.

"What was that all about?" Sam waved his hand in front of his face. "The whole nightmare thing."

"She's always had nightmares, just…" I shrugged. "Uncle Bobby, your house has always been a safety zone. A place to relax and refuel, gotta love it here. It's nice not to jump at every little sound. Usually she doesn't get 'em here."

"Why's that?" Dean asked.

I smiled "It's where our family is, the place where we have some of our earliest memories… This is home."

* * *

**A/N:**

**I'd like to also thank: **

**Ginebra, MarianneP, MissGuenever, supernaturalobbsessed, AshCrash44, Demonic Hope, mary621, neongreengruit, Cori-Ackles, angeleyenc, samgirl19, suanne, gabster94, BookWorkForLife, Beccatdemon13, annabell 14, Abby912, 19irene96, wingedspiral,Rebel-child04, Hicks07, Liz, DeanObsession, destra, Magic's My Muse, Andrea Beuficy, night-star-93, Front-Flop-Pike, januarysunshine13 and candy-cake **

**for taking the time and reviewing my story at one point or another.**

**Yes, I really did just look up all of my reviews! That's how much it means to me, thanks guys!  
**


	15. Bohemian Rhapsody

**Hey guys! I know it's been a while, I've had so much going on that I really couldn't even begin to tell you**.** Point being, it's been way to long considering I originally wanted to post this yesterday on my birthday, but writers block and life kinda made me not get it done... I'd like to thank MissGuenever for stepping in and agreeing to Beta this chapter while my normal Beta was off saving the world. Abby, the title for this chapter is for you. :D So, I hope you guys don't hate me and I hope you enjoy it!**

**Oh yeah! Another thanks for MissGuenever for helping me go back and edit this story. You're amazing! **

* * *

"Is this the real life?  
Is this just fantasy?  
Caught in a landslide  
No escape from reality  
Open your eyes  
Look up to the skies and see"

I leaned forward and wiped away the steam clouding the bathroom mirror. Green eyes stared back at me, a look of desperation and despair hinted within their bounds.

A girl much like me stood on the other side of the glass. Her gangly limbs and too skinny features were much like my own; her skin was littered with scars and bruises that mimicked the ones present on my pasty white skin.

Using a figure, I traced the scaring that littered my stomach. The clone followed my movements.

"Kid!" Dean yelled, knocking on the door. "Hurry up!"

I looked down at the watch on my wrist. "I still have five minutes!" I told him in annoyance.

"Not with that attitude you don't." He snapped back. "Now hurry up!"

I grabbed a shirt out of my backpack before shrugging it on. I twisted my hair into a knot before securing it to my head with a hair elastic.

"Happy now?" I asked Dean as I pushed past him.

"Ecstatic." He flashed me a sarcastic smile before reaching out a hand and ruffling my hair.

"Dean!" I protested, peeved when a lock of hair fell into my face. Sighing I fixed it, giving Dean a look of annoyance.

"Breakfast in five." He told me; I opened my mouth to protest, "I don't wanna hear it, Kid. You're going to come down stairs, you're going to sit at the table and you're going to eat breakfast with the rest of the family. Got it?"

"Yeah, I got it." Dean flashed me a look. "Sir. Yeah, I got it, Sir." I corrected lamely.

"That's better. Remember, five minutes!" He called while walking down the stairs.

"Craaaap." I muttered to myself as I walked into my bedroom and threw my backpack onto the bed.

Dean really hadn't been lying when he had told me I was now part of an official 'hunter boot camp'. The day after my little punishment seminar, I had awoken to a whistling Dean taking the door off of my bedroom. Bobby had groused a little about them taking the house apart; but, he took it in stride. Dean and Cody were helping him in the salvage yard; and Sam and Adam had been organizing his library. I had been stuck on cleaning duty – washing windows, dusting, all spring cleaning stuff. I'd even cleaned out parts of the basement that I don't think had seen the light of day in forever.

Probably the worst thing was the essay Sam decided that I needed to write. Five thousand words on the teenagers and alcohol use. To include both physiological and psychological impacts. He'd punctuated this with waving those damn pamphlets the cop gave Uncle Bobby around. I had decided then and there, looking at those stupid multi-color pamphlets, that I was never drinking again!

I had just looked at Dean, and he had just looked at me before simply saying, "Privacy is a privilege, not a right." Before picking up the door and walking off. What did he think I was, a Marine recruit?

After that he had made it clear that my morning time in the bathroom, shower included, was to be less than fifteen minutes. I had complained, only to have Cody slap me upside the head and tell me I had brought it all on myself.

Ok, so maybe I _had_ brought it on myself… Not that it made dealing with the crap they were putting me through any frigging easier; but, this shit was so over the top. Cleaning, no door, an essay… When the hell I get drafted?

"Kid!" Dean yelled up at me.

I didn't bother responding; instead I made my way down the stairs before sitting down at the kitchen table.

"Mornin' Darlin'." Uncle Bobby told me with a smile.

"Morning Uncle Bobby." I returned his smile before reaching for a piece of toast. "So what's the plan for today?"

"Dean's going to work on training Adam," Cody hesitated before blurting out the next part. "And Sam's gonna help you with your school work."

"What?" I asked, not even bothering to look at the jam that I was slathering onto my toast.

"Addy, we're not getting into this again." My brother warned as I went to take a bite from my toast. He looked from me, to the jam jar then back to me before knocking the piece of toast out of my hand.

"What the hell was that for?" I demanded, picking up a napkin and attempting to wipe up the jam from the table.

Cody grabbed my wrist, slapping me upside the head with his free hand before using the napkin to clean up the mess himself.

"Are you stupid?" He demanded. "Or do you have a death wish?"

"Cody, what are you…?" I asked, staring at my brother is if he were insane.

"God, no wonder why you've been getting hurt so much recently. You're so fucking unobservant to notice when you've put yourself in a dangerous situation."

I opened my mouth, unsure of what to say.

"What's wrong Addy?" Cody yelled. "Don't know what to say?"

"That's enough." Dean warned in a stern voice. "She doesn't know what she did wrong. You can't just yell at her like that."

"Oh yeah Dean." Cody scoffed at our cousin. "I forgot, you've known her for what, a month now? So that means you obviously know everything about her."

"Cody." Bobby said sharply, warning my brother to get his emotions under control before he spoke again.

I watched my brother take a deep breath before running a hand through his hair. He stood up, grabbing the jar of jam before walking over to me and placing it in front of me, label pointed towards me.

"Oh." I whispered, looking at the picture of simple, bright red strawberry.

He knelt down so our eyes were on an even level. "You need to be careful." I could tell he wanted to say more but was restraining himself. "Meet me outside in ten minutes." His tone left nothing up for negotiation. "And be ready to run. You're going to remember this next time you decide to be a frigging idiot."

I groaned involuntarily. Running was something I did for myself, not anyone else. Having to run to appease any authority figure instantly sucked the fun out of it, and my brother knew I felt this way too.

"Oh come on!" Cody joked, rumbling my hair as he stood up. "I'm not going to go too hard on you. Ok, maybe I am, but I'm sure you'll still have fun."

And with that my brother walked outside, leaving me in the kitchen with a bunch of confused men.

"I'm really allergic to strawberries. Hence Cody's justified anger." I told them as I grabbed my unused plate and silverware and put them back into the cabinets.

"That's fine and dandy and all, but you need to eat something Kid." Dean told me and I could practically hear him making a mental note to himself not to let me anywhere near strawberries from now on.

"I'm fine." I said with a shrug, causing Dean to raise an eyebrow. I hadn't eaten much since we got to Bobby's, even with Dean insisting that I had to.

"Kid," He warned and I rolled my eyes.

"I'll eat something when I get back. Happy?"

"Overjoyed," He said sarcastically as I made me way out of the room.

"Hey, Adam," Sam began. "I think you should go with her."

"What?" Both of us demanded at the same time.

"Sam, I don't need someone to babysit me." I protested at the same time that Adam objected "It's not me who's been doing stupid reckless things."

"Sam's right, you're going with her Adam." And just like that, it wasn't up for negotiation anymore, Dean's word was law.

Five minutes later, Adam and I were standing outside as Cody looked us up and down, an amused expression on his face.

"Two hours," Cody began, giving Adam a look of pity. "Fifteen miles, stay on the usual route, just to the center of town and then loop back. And try to stay together."

Sam pulled up a map on his laptop and showed Adam the route; it was a pretty easy route to follow; four turns in all. Adam nodded that he understood; he was pretty good with maps and such, and being with the Winchesters for a couple months he'd gotten a lot better.

"Can we finish before then?" I asked, knowing it shouldn't take me that long, not if I was really pushing myself.

"You won't need to if the two of you are staying together." Cody sighed.

"Way to go Adds," Adam muttered from behind me. "You screw up and we both have to suffer."

I just rolled my eyes as Cody let of a single barking laugh. "See you two in a couple hours." He told us, pointing to the exit to Singer's Salvage Yard.

"Let's go!" I smiled grimly, clapping Adam on the shoulder once before I took off running.

He sighed deeply before taking off, catching up to me as he evened out his breathing to match my own.

"Bet you're regretting the whole smoking thing right about now." I smirked, steadying out my feet as we hit the paved road.

"Nah, it doesn't make much of a difference."

"Sure it doesn't." I huffed, doing my best to slow down my pace to make sure Adam didn't fall too far behind. I dropped into my thoughts and let the rhythm of my feet hitting the pavement soothe me. Adam ceased to exist; Cody, Sam, and Dean all disappeared off my horizon. Running was like meditating for me; I could completely empty my mind.

When I stopped for a quick breather at the place that marked the half way point of our run, Adam was nowhere to be found. I had spaced out, too focused on running to notice Adam had fallen behind.

"Greaaaaaaat." I muttered to myself, running a hand through my bangs as I glanced around the streets of town. Still no Adam. I'd wait till he caught up with me before turning around and making my way back. How long could it be anyway? A few minutes later, there was still no sign of Adam. Dang; how frigging slow was that boy?

"What the hell Adam!" I sighed, slapping my hands on the top of my head as I looked around in annoyance. "Uragh!" I growled as I threw my hands down, accidentally thwacking an innocent bystander.

"Sorry I didn't," I began, turning around and making the situation worse when I accidentally smacked the guy's coffee cup.

Hot liquid drenched his clothes as he angrily looked at me. He was older than Dean; but, not as old as Bobby. I always sucked at telling the age of 'adults.' I guess he was old enough to be my father. Adult is what he was.

"What the hell is your issue?" He demanded, holding his shirt out away from his body.

"It's not like I meant to hit you." I snapped back.

"Well that doesn't get the coffee outta my shirt, now does it?"

"What am I supposed to do?" I demanded. It wasn't like I could magically make the stain disappear. Accidents happen, not that this frigging asshat seemed to understand that.

"How about you apologize like a good little girl?"

I rolled my eyes in irritation, "I'm sorry that I hit you, considering it was a fricking accident."

"Well aren't you a bitch?"

"Well aren't you an asshat?" I snapped back.

Before I knew what was happening, asshat extraordinaire had grabbed my shoulder.

"Let her go, Asshole." Adam's voice left nothing to question. His eyes were filled with more anger then I had ever seen in them. Right now, Adam reminded me of Dean.

**O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O**

When Dean finally arrived at the police station, he was beyond angry.

Livid, that was more like it.

Only Adam and Addy, would be able to find trouble in frigging East Podunk South Dakota.

"What the hell happened?" Dean demanded, staring down at the two blank faces of the teenagers _he_ was in charge of.

Defiant attitude, check.

Stubborn personalities, check.

The only thing missing from the equation was disrespect.

"What the hell do you _think_ happened?" Addy snapped back, and there it was. The disrespect.

"I'm thinkin' you two landed yourselves in a _fucking POLICE STATION._" Dean yelled as bystanders looked on.

Both teens shifted uncomfortably, neither of them liked the attention. Addy shuddered, and for the first time Dean noticed the bruises on her arms.

"What happened to you?" Walking over to Addy, Dean gestured for her to hold out her arm.

Addy rolled her eyes; Dean glared at her and she grudgingly complied.

"They're just bruises, Dean." Addy mumbled, trying to pull her arm away. One warning look from Dean was enough to make her stop.

"How did this happen?" Dean demanded. "Huh?"

"It's not that big of a deal." Addy sighed.

A voice cleared their throat and Dean looked around, coming face to face with an attractive cop. Damn, she was hot. The way her uniform clung to her-

Oh crap, she was saying something to him.

"Ummm, yes?" Dean said, earning a spark of annoyance from the female cop.

"I need to talk to you sir," She sighed slightly. "Would you come over here please?"

Dean followed Officer Willis, at least that's what her name tag said, into a small glass office. Through his peripheral vision Dean watched as Addy and Adam bent their heads down, their mouths moving as they quietly discussed something.

**O~O~O~O~O~O~O**

For the first time since being dragged into the police station, Addy and Adam were left completely alone.

"Ok," Addy whispered, bending her head towards Adam. "I get the whole 'macho man' need to prove to that asshat that you could beat him to a pulp; but, why couldn't we leave? I mean someone fricking called 9-1-1!"

"The dick deserved it." Adam didn't even look at her as he spoke.

"In case you haven't noticed," Addy explained, using the same tone that she'd use on a five year old. "We're in a police station!"

"How was I supposed to know this would happen?"

"Gee, I dunno. Maybe because beating the crap outta someone is, you know, illegal."

"How was I supposed to know we'd be 'asked' to come down to the station?"

Addy didn't know what to say. "You're a friggin' idiot! None of this would have happed if you just stuck by me like you should have! I mean, where the hell were you when all this crap started to go down?"

"What do you mean?" Playing dumb, he was playing dumb! Did he think she was an idiot?

"Earlier, you know. Before that PMSing psycho slammed me into the wall." Addy snapped.

"I was on a run, remember?" He tried to look annoyed as he fingered something in his pocket.

"Adam, what the hell is that?" Addy hissed, glaring at her cousin.

"What's what?" He swallowed.

Before he could protest, Addy reached into Adam's pocket, pulling out a pack of Marlboro's and a lighter.

"Seriously?" Addy asked, not sure if she was angry or just plain annoyed. "_Seriously?_ You stopped for a fucking cigarette!"

Adam snatched them out of Addy's hand, shoving them back into his pocket before he shut his eyes and ran a hand down his face.

"Wow, this is… This is just dandy." Addy let of a bitter laugh.

"Look Addy, I'm sorry. Ok? I'm sorry!" He looked blank, like he had no idea what to say.

"Would you shut up?" Addy snapped loudly, causing two officers to glance their way. "Don't you get it? This isn't about the smoking, Adam! I'm worried about you! After everything that's happened, we're the only ones you have left." Addy practically begged. "Please, I know it's hard. But just _talk_ to us!"

"You know it's hard?" Adam laughed in her face, an angry, bitter expression on his face. "Yeah, like you're the fucking picture of mental health. You are sooo good at talking about your issues."

Adam's retort his Addy hard. "We're talking about you not me."

"Gee, thanks Mom!" Sarcasm dripped from Adam's mouth.

"Fine you want the truth. I killed my parents. Both of them. Stick that in your craw and chew on it."

"At least you knew them."

"My mom died when I was six months old. How did I know her?" Adam just shut his mouth, and slouched further down in his chair. Right after my tenth birthday my dad was killed by a ghost because of something _I_ told him. I killed my parents. It's my fault they're dead." Addy clenched her fists.

"I didn't… I'm sorry, I didn't know." Adam bit his lip as looked her up and down. "It's just, if I had _been_ there…" He trailed off, trying to convince himself that he could have saved his mom.

"If you had been there, you'd be dead too."

"Maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing." Adam muttered, obviously not meaning for her to hear.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Addy yelled, slapping Adam on the arm. "Do you think you being dead would do _anything_?"

"I'd feel less guilty!" He snapped back.

"But you'd be dead!" Addy took a deep breath, closed her eyes and looked back at Adam. "Don't you get it?" She practically begged. "We're your family! We're the _only_ people you have left. So when you finally realize you need someone to talk to, come find me."

"Alright, thanks for your time!" Dean flashed Officer Willis a smile as he pocketed the small piece of paper she'd scribbled her number down on. "Which one of you geniuses thought it would be a good idea to smash that guy's head against a brick wall?" Dean asked, walking over to the teens.

Adam didn't meet Dean's eyes and Addy was suddenly extremely interested in the chipped blue paint on her fingernails.

"Hey!" Dean yelled, clapping his hands together and earning him glares from both teens. "I asked you a question!"

"Does it matter?" Addy asked. "He was a dick."

"He may have been a dick, but that doesn't mean you can hurt random people!"

"Oh, he'll get over it!" Addy rolled her eyes. "Besides, he's not even pressing charges."

Dean grabbed her by the ear while motioning for Adam to follow the three went out to the car in what felt like a funeral march to the youngest members of the extended Winchester clan.

"You know, that doesn't feel good!" Addy snapped as Dean stopped in front of the Impala.

"Which one of you?" Dean asked, pointing between teens. "Thought it would be a good idea to punch a random civilian?"

He wasn't happy. There was angry Dean, disappointed Dean, and 'I want to kick your ass for being stupid' Dean. Unfortunately for the teens, it was the last one.

"You could have made him go away without hurting the fricking idiot! Drawing attention to us is bad! I don't know how to get that through your thick skulls! If you two don't tell which one of you it was, I'm going to kick both of your ass-"

"It was me." Addy cut Dean off, ignoring the questioning look Adam flashed her. Dean was already angry enough at her, what difference did a little more make? That way Adam didn't have to get into trouble and, well, Addy was already in enough trouble so… "I did it."

Dean nodded as he glared down at Addy. "Adeline, you know better than to draw attention to yourself." He warned her, getting into the drive's seat of the Impala. "We'll deal with this later."

"Why would you do that?" Adam demanded, turning Addy around to face him. "Nothing that happened was your fault!"

Addy just shrugged. "You've been through enough. The last thing you need right now is Dean yelling at you for helping me out. Besides, I'm already in trouble. What's a little more?"

Adam stared at her like she was an idiot.

"We're family Adam," She tried to explain. "That means I've got your back. Family. That's what we do."

Flashing her cousin one last smile, Addy flopped onto the backseat of the Impala. She really wasn't looking to getting home and dealing with Cody and Bobby.

**O~O~O~O~O~O~O**

"Four thousand nine hundred and ninety nine, and five thousand." Addy couldn't help but smile triumphantly. She had gotten her stupid essay on the negative effects of teen alcoholism to exactly five thousand words. "And print!"

Humming, Addy skipped over to the printer and scooped up the pieces of paper.

"Here you go, Sammy!" A small smile crossed her face as Addy carefully sat down on the living room couch next to her cousin; to say Cody had been unhappy with the second police station incident was downplaying his mood. She stretched her legs out in front of her, wincing slightly as they screeched out in pain. They were still hurting from the wonderful workout Dean had made Adam and her endure. As he'd put it, it helped 'sweat the smartass right outta you'.

Sam just flashed her a smile and shook his head as he uncapped his red pen and started scribbling.

"Going all grammar police on me?" Addy asked leaning over to look at all the corrections he had already made.

"Just looking out for you, Adds." Sam said, reaching out and ruffling her hair. His eyes never left the paper.

God he was bleeding all over the damn thing; how much rewriting was she going to have to do?

"Kid," Dean called from the kitchen. "Come here."

"Do I have to?" Addy groaned.

Sam chuckled, but Dean just whistled. Walking into the kitchen, Addy came face to face with her brother and cousin.

"Did I do something?" Her eyes bounced back and forth between the two men.

"God, I hope you didn't do anything else," Cody said, taking a sip of his beer. One of Cody's favorite things about being at Bobby's was the fact he didn't always have to be on guard. Which meant he could have a few beers and not worry. That had been one of the things that the 'adults' had discussed outside a couple nights ago: how thankful they were to have a haven like Bobby's.

"I'm going grocery shopping and you and Adam have kindly volunteered to come along and help." Dean said, twirling the keys to the Impala in his hands.

"I don't remember-"

"ANYWAY," Cody cleared his throat. "You two are going with Dean to pick up some food, get some fresh air and stretch your legs."

"Oh joy." Addy muttered sarcastically. Yes, Adam and she hadn't really been allowed out of the house. But the grocery store? Who wanted to go to the grocery store?

"What was that?" Cody asked, eyebrows raised.

"Sure, Dean, I'd be happy to help." She corrected with a grimace resembling a smile.

"Good, now go get Adam and meet me in the car." Dean grunted.

"Adam!" Called Addy from the bottom of the stairs. "We've been recruited."

"For what?" He yelled down.

"A dangerous and life threatening grocery shopping excursion."

"I think I'll pass."

"Wasn't a suggestion," Dean yelled as he walked out to the Impala. "Asses. Car. Now!"

Adam let out an annoyed sigh before stomping past Addy and getting into the car. Addy's response was identical except with the addition of an overly dramatic eye-roll and a hair toss. Their ride to the store was awkward, tense. No one made a sound.

"That's it." Dean snapped, pull the Impala over to the side of the road. Turning to face the two teenagers, his eyes clouded over in anger. "We're going to do this, and you're going to like it and have fun!"

"We're going grocery shopping… How is that fun?" Addy asked, staring at Dean like he had finally lost it. Which, in a way, he had.

"Because I say so!" He yelled. "Mandatory family fun, God damn it!"

"You can't just order us to have fun." Adam tried to explain.

"Mandatory. Family. Fun!" Dean repeated emphatically.

Of course when they were finally at the store, and their shopping cart was piled high with various foods, the teens still weren't having fun. Not that they'd tell Dean that. He was determined to have a good time, even if that meant putting them through shopping hell.

"This is cruel and unusual," Adam muttered under his breath. "Can't he just kill us and get it over with?"

"I think he's having more fun with the slow and meaningless torture." Sighed Addy as she checked the list again. The only things left that they needed were milk and eggs. Not that Addy really understood _why_ they even needed milk in the first place; she was the only one who drank it. And she didn't even like it. But, as Dean so kindly put it, milk gives people strong bones, strong bones let people kick ass; so, if you don't wanna be found dead in a ditch, you need to drink milk.

Addy had just shook her head. No sense arguing, Dean's mind was made up.

"Alright!" Dean said loudly, steering the cart down an aisle of frozen foods. "What else do we need?"

"Outta this hell hole?" Adam muttered under his breath, earning him a laugh from Addy and a glare from Dean.

"Milk," Addy said with a sigh. "And eggs."

"Milk, milk, milk, milk…" Dean murmured under his breath, leaning against the metal bar of the cart as they continued to walk. "'Scuse me miss where's the milk."

Dean asked the attractive blond clerk who was leaning into the cooler. Stopping in his tracks, Dean let off a low whistle. "Are you from Tennessee?" He asked the girl with a smile. "Because you're the only ten I see."

"You know," The girl said with a sigh as she stood up. "I've had plenty of guys use that line on me and," She turned around. "You're not like any of them." She smiled at Dean, taken in by his charm; and lost in his limpid eyes.

Addy and Adam shared a look that expressed just how cheesy they thought this all was. Sheesh, who was stupid enough to fall for a line like that? Guess they knew what Dean was going - well who Dean was going to be doing tonight.

"I'm Dean," He said, his mouth slid into a half grin as he stuck out his hand.

She shook it. "Sasha." She glanced over at Addy and Adam. "And who might these two people be."

"My little brother and sister," Dean said, sticking to the same story they'd been using for the past month. Yeah, because Addy looked _so_ much like Dean, Adam and Sam.

"Well hello there!" Sasha said with a bright smile as she bent down and positioned herself an inch away from Addy's face. "What's your name Sweetie?"

"Addy," She mumbled stepping away her. What the heck was this lady on? Did she have no concept of personal space?

"Uh huh!" Sasha's voice was saccharine sweet as she spoke. "And how old are you?"

Addy bit her lip, trying to keep her angry under control. "Fifteen!" She snapped, and Sasha looked completely surprised. "I'm fifteen!"

Dean thinking she was younger then she actually was, was one thing. But this bitch? She wasn't that much older than Addy, she should be able to tell how old Addy was!

"Oh…" Sasha was bright red as she stood back up.

"I'm goin' to the car." Addy mumbled, doing her best not to let how truly upset she was show. She felt like she was going to cry. It was _embarrassing_. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around.

One look at her face and Dean realized she needed some space. "Ok," He nodded.

Addy stood by the car, staring at herself in the window as she ran a hand through her hair. Did she really look that young? She thought she looked like a teenager. With her still growing breasts, her narrow hips and her lack of baby fat; but her hair… Yeah, Addy guessed, it did make her look younger then she was.

Well, it was rather long. A crazy idea popped into her head. She mentally calculated how much time she had before the guys were done, and decided it was worth risking more trouble. Assuming Dean did his usual flirt thing, she had at least thirty minutes; probably more like forty-five. Glancing around the strip mall, a smile crossed Addy's face she found what she was looking for.

**O~O~O~O~O~O~O**

Fourty minutes later, Addy walked back over to the Impala as she readjusted the baseball cap she had pawned off of a random six-year-old.

"Where the hell have you been?" Dean snapped raising his arms in irritation as Addy approached the car.

"I had to get something." She said, fingering her baggy sweat shirt to make it look like she was hiding something in it. Addy didn't bother elaborating, she'd let Dean make his own assumptions.

He grimaced, "Next time you decide to freakin' wonder off like that, you sure as hell better call!"

Addy met his eyes, "I will." She said with a nod.

Dean did his best to calm down as he got into the Impala. When they finally got back to Bobby's, he was still mad. They unloaded the food in silence, shoving it anywhere they could find space in the kitchen before going their separate ways.

"Hey Rumsfeld," Addy smiled as she sat down, rubbing the dog's ears. It was quiet outside, giving Addy time to think. She had finally escaped and was enjoying spending some time alone, and she was loving it! "How ya doin' boy?"

He whimpered.

"Yeah," Sighed Addy. "Me too."

"Ya know, Darlin'," Uncle Bobby said, taking a seat next to her on the porch steps. "There's a way to deal with some of the issues you've been havin'." He looked Addy in the eyes. "It's called talking."

"I don't… I don't really want to." She whispered, hugging her knees to her chest.

"Well, that's we're here, ain't it?"

"What do ya mean?" She asked, rubbing her forehead with the back of her hand.

"I mean that," Uncle Bobby said, shifting around to make himself more comfortable. "As angry as ya family is at ya, we all still love you. _Talk_ to us. Tell us what's goin' on."

Addy did her best to keep her eyes focused straight forward, to not let Bobby see the tear escape. "I just," Stammered Addy. "I just don't know what to do anymore. How to handle things… Everything was so much simpler a year ago!"

Uncle Bobby didn't speak for a minute. Scratching Rumsfeld's head, Addy waited. "Well, would you rather have people telling you the truth, or live in a lie?"

"The truth," Addy answered with a nod, not even bothering to think about it. "One hundred percent of the time."

Leaning over, Uncle Bobby kissed her forehead before standing up. "That's what I thought," He said before walking back into the house.

Silence filled the peaceful night air as Addy simply sat, rolling over everything in her mind.

"This shit ends now, Adam!" Dean's voice cut through the calm.

"You can't fucking tell me what to do, Dean!" Adam yelled, slamming the screen door shut behind him as he pushed past Addy, Dean following closely behind him.

"Hey!" Dean yelled, running after Adam. "Turn around, _now!_"

"Screw you, Dean!" He didn't stop walking.

Dean grabbed his youngest brother, forcing him to face him. "Talk to me!" Dean ordered.

"Why?" Adam yelled, pushing away from Dean. "So you can tell me exactly what I can do and when I can do it? It's my life! I can do whatever the hell I want with it!"

"Not this," Dean shook his head before removing red box from his pocket and shaking it in front of Adam's face. "You sure as hell don't get to do this!"

"Those are mine," Adam snapped, reaching for the box as Dean pulled it away from him.

"Not anymore they're not." Dean shoved the box back into his pocket. "Because you're done. This isn't happening again. Got it?"

"What gives you the right?" Adam asked angrily. "And you treat your fucking body like a temple? Fucking fish!"

"I'm your brother!" Dean grabbed Adam by the shirt.

"Oh yeah," Adam's voice dripped with sarcasm. "And you've been here my whole fucking life."

"I'm your brother, your family, your _blood_. I may not have been there for you growing up, but from here on out-"

Adam laughed. "What? We gonna hop in the Family Truckster? Pop on down to Wally World?"

"Do you think this if funny?" Demanded Dean, shoving Adam away from him. "Do you?"

"I think this is none of your business."

"That's where you're wrong, Buddy." Dean let off a bitter laugh. "_Everything_ you do is my business!"

"So you can just go through my crap whenever the hell you want?"

"_Hell _yes!" Dean shouted.

"I deserve my privacy!" Adam yelled, grabbing his hair before dropping his hands by his side.

"Not when you're doing crap like this, you don't!"

"You didn't _know_ I was doing anything until you went through my fucking bag!"

"Guilty conscious?" Dean shook his head.

"No," Adam took a breath before yelling "Because I didn't do anything wrong!"

Hearing the sound of footsteps, Addy looked behind her and noticed Sam, a concerned look on his face, checking out the scene.

"What's going on?" She asked, standing up.

"Dean was doing laundry, didn't have enough so he went to get some clothes outta Adam's bag…" Sam sighed. "He found some cigarettes and, well, I'm pretty sure you heard the rest of it."

The sound of a hose turning on caused Sam and Addy to turn around. Dean had one hand firmly wrapped around Adam's shirt; the other held the garden hose.

Addy cringed when the hose water made contact with Adam's skin. That shit was _cold_.

Adam yelped, trying to get away from the steady stream of water. Dean held him under in a firm grip.

"Dean!" Adam yelled, using a hand to try and make the flow of water away from him. "Stop it! Just stop it!"

"This shit ends now Adam, you hear me?" Dean told his brother, still holding him under the water.

"Why?" Adam finally managed to push away from Dean as he shook water out of his hair. "I'm eighteen, I'm an adult!"

"Sorry, Buddy Boy," Laughed Dean. "You don't get to be an adult till you start _acting_ like one."

"And that's coming from you?" Adam shook his head.

"Ok, that's it!"Snapped Dean. "This ends now, got it?"

"You can't tell me what to do!"

Dean took a deep breath, closing his eyes briefly before opening them again. He was beyond angry. "Wanna try that again?"

"You. Can't. Tell. Me. What. To. Do." Adam repeated slowly being very careful to enunciate each syllable.

"Don't you get it Adam?" Dean yelled. "It's stupid crap like this that gets you killed!"

"You do stupid shit all the time!" Hissed Adam.

"Not like this. Not crap that can get someone killed!"

"Bullshit!" Adam snapped through the constant flow of water. "It's my fucking body; I can do what I want with it!"

Dean threw the hose away from the two of them before shutting off the water and picking Adam up by his soaking wet clothes. "This. Ends. _Now_."

The laugh Adam let off was a mistake. Dean felt the anger radiating from him. Adam didn't get it. So, Dean would _make_ him get it.

The next few minutes made Addy realize one thing; in comparison to Dean, the smack down Cody had given her had been nothing. Note to self, Addy thought; don't piss Dean off unless you don't wanna be able to sit for the next month and a half.

"This is done," Dean snapped as he finally finished, helping Adam pull up his pants. Adam stepped away from Dean, to angry to do anything but glare at his older brother. "Did I make myself clear?"

"Crystal." Adam growled, earning him a raised eyebrow from Dean.

"We need to go another round?" Dean asked. "Teach you about respect?"

"We don't need to do anything, Dean." Muttered Adam, refusing to look at Dean. "We're done."

Addy wasn't sure if anyone else caught the double meaning in those words.

"Then I suggest you go upstairs, maybe your stupidity will wear off in your sleep."

"I'm not a child, Dean."

"Oh yeah," Dean raised an eyebrow. "Then stop acting like one! Upstairs. Now!"

Adam hesitated for a second longer before realizing it was in his best interest to go upstairs. He pushed past Dean, walking up the porch stairs before slamming the front door behind him.

"What the hell was that?" Sam snapped at his brother as he walked off the porch and onto the dirt ground.

"The kid needed to learn his lesson."

"So you thought you'd spank him?" Sam raised his hands as he let off a bitter laugh.

"Like what? Like a child?" Dean snarled. "Guess what! He is a child!"

"He's not a child, Dean. He's eighteen, he's an adult!"

"Until he starts _acting_ like an adult, this is how he's gonna be treated."

"And I'm almost twenty six!" Sam yelled.

"So?"

"So, if you won't treat _me_ like an adult, there's no way in hell you're gonna treat Adam like one anytime soon!"

Dean's face curled into a snarl, he opened his mouth to retaliate but the sound of the front opening cut him off.

Cody leaned against the door frame. He looked at Dean, then Sam, then Dean again. He knew he was interrupting something. "Dinner, if any of you are interested."

"We're not done here." Dean warned Sam, sticking a finger in his face as an indication that he still had more to say.

"Addy," Cody cleared his throat. "Dinner."

"I'm not-"

"Hungry, I know. Humor me." He said dryly before turning around and walking back inside.

Letting out a sigh of annoyance, Addy let Sam and Dean walk past her before making her way into the kitchen.

"Hat off at the table, Adds." Cody didn't even look up he spoke.

Addy heisted, knowing that taking off the hat would cause more trouble than it was worth.

"Do I have to?" She tried not to sound desperate.

That got Cody's attention. "You know the rules. No hats at the dinner table. Take it off."

"Cody, I-"

"Now!"

Biting her lip, Addy slowly brought up a hand and removed the cap. Her copper hair fell to the bottom of her shoulder blades, over a foot shorter than it had previously been. Sam and Uncle Bobby looked shocked, unsure of what to make of her hair. But Dean and Cody, they just looked _pissed_.

"What the hell did you do?" Cody demanded at the same time that Dean snapped, " 'Getting something' my ass!

"It's just a hair cut…" Addy tried to down play the situation.

But Dean… Yeah, it _so_ wasn't about the hair with Dean. "You lied to me!" He yelled, getting up from the table and grabbing her arm. He dragged her out to the living room, closely followed by Cody.

"Do you think this is funny?" He yelled, shaking her. "Huh? Do you?"

Addy let out an involuntary whimper as tears leaked from her eyes, she was actually scared at how angry Dean was. It wasn't just anger at her, but anger at everything that had happened with Adam too.

"No!" Addy promised. "No I don't!"

"Dean," Cody's voice broke Dean's concentration. "You're hurting her."

"Maybe if you taught her how to behave this wouldn't be an issue!" Growled Dean, letting go of Addy so he could turn on Cody.

Addy retreated away from Dean.

"She's my sister. What happens to her isn't your-"

Dean punched him. Not hard, but enough that some blood escaped his lips.

"Fell better now?" Cody raised his eyebrow.

Dean punched him again.

"No, but now I do." Dean admitted with a shrug.

"Next time you feel like punching me, can you, you know, _not?_" Sighed Cody. He wasn't mad, not really; he had seen the punch coming but had decided it would be better to just let Dean get everything out in a hit then have the two of them yelling at each other.

Dean sighed before running a hand through his hair. Cody hadn't expected an answer.

"Adeline," Cody said. "Come over here."

Dragging her feet across the floor, Addy made her way over to her brother. Reaching a hand under her cheek, Cody forced Addy to look at him. "Next time you think it's a good idea to go out and do some random crap to your body, think long and hard about it before realizing it's not a good idea. Hair can grow back, piercings and tattoos aren't as easy to get rid of. And I'm not going to be so forgiving if you come home with one of those without talking to me first." He gave her a warning look. "Understand."

She nodded.

"Good! Be up and dressed at five thirty tomorrow. Uncle Bobby has an endless supply of scrap metal that needs to be moved and you just volunteered yourself to help with that." Cody watched Addy's face fall as she bit back a sarcastic comeback.

"Yes sir." She whispered.

"Alright," Cody said, turning to Dean. "Your turn… Just don't kill her, alright?"

Dean nodded, waiting till Cody had left the room before grabbing her arm and dragging her up the stairs and into her bed room.

He shut the door behind them before pushing Addy down on her bed.

Dean opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say. He swallowed before trying again. "Just explain to me why you thought lying to me and breaking my trust was a good idea. I'm trying to understand, I really am, but I just don't get it."

"It's just hair." Muttered Addy.

"Hair?" Dean yelled. "Hair? That's what you think this is about?" He shook his head and reached into his pocket before throwing a knife at her. "Go ahead! Cut it all off, I don't fucking care!"

She held the knife in her hand, her mouth hanging open.

"You know," Dean laughed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I actually thought you were starting to get this shit." He dropped his hands to his side. "I've been nice. Given you more chances then I should have, been more patient then I usually am! I may not know much about you, but I do know a shit load about my dad."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Addy asked.

"That means no more second chances. From here on out, every time you step outta line, I'm dealing with it the same way I know my dad would." He saw Addy swallowed. Good, she got the message. "And I can _promise _you this," Dean walked closer to her. "If and when you do screw-up, I'll be right there to help you up before I put you right back down." He saw her questioning look. "You're my responsibility. I'm here to help you, but that means I'm here to punish you too."

A menacing smile passed over Dean's lips. Reaching out a hand, he tapped her lightly on the cheek twice before standing up. "Now, you're going to stay here and think about your priorities, and when you finally realize how you _should_ be acting, you can leave this room. Got it?"

One nod was the only indication Addy gave.

"Good." Dean walked towards the door. "And Kid?" He waited till she was looking at him. "That's an order."

The bedroom door clicked softly shut behind Dean. Addy was worried. She'd pushed Dean too far, Adam was on the brink of self destruction and there were a million other thing she should be doing right now. Like helping her charges or maybe even just helping ghosts move on like she was supposed to. But she couldn't. Instead, she was stuck in this stupid bedroom, thinking about everything she had done and how she should change.

She just wasn't so sure where to start.

**O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O**

"Beer me, Sammy!" Dean sighed, sitting in the make shift circle around the fire half an hour later.

"How'd it go?" Cody asked, taking a sip from his own beer.

"Your sister's asking for it." Dean told him seriously.

"My sister's been asking for it for a while now." Cody ran a hand down his face.

"I'll say." Uncle Bobby laughed, using a stick to poke the fire before just throwing it in. "She's acted out for as long as I can 'member."

"Man," Dean sighed. "I'm pretty sure it's 'teenager stupidity awareness month' or something like that. Adam with his smoking and Addy with her crappy, crappy attitude."

"Just be thankful you weren't here while she was growing up." Cody muttered.

"I raised Sammy boy here," Dean teased his little brother. "Little boys are just like little girls, right?"

Silence erupted in the circle.

"You're kidding, right?" Sam asked. "That's like saying Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare were the same person."

"Christopher who?" Dean asked.

"Seriously Dean?" Sam demanded. "Did you _ever_ go to school?"

Dean opened his mouth, only to be cut off by Cody.

"I don't have a little brother, so I'm not sure what they're like. But I know that Addy was a little monster when she got angry."

"What?" Dean laughed. "Did she used to color on the walls? Throw tantrums and refuse to eat her vegetables?"

Cody laughed. "Depended on the situation I guess."

"What's so funny?" Asked Sam.

"Nothing," Cody let off a small chuckle. "I'm just remembering the time she bit your dad while he was trying to potty train her."

"She bit Dad?" Dean looked horrified. "And she's still alive?"

"Yeah, well," Cody laughed again.

"What?" Sam asked.

"It's nothing. She just used to be afraid of toilets."

"Seriously?" Dean smirked. "Toilets?"

"Yep!" Shaking his head, Cody smiled. "Pretty interesting story. Not that you'd wanna hear it."

"Try me." Dean said with a nod.

"Alright," Sighed Cody.

_I shut the door quietly behind me, not interested in alerting anyone of my presence. I placed my backpack next to the double-barreled shotgun on the round dining table as I moved further into the small apartment where my sister and I had been staying for the past two months, Dad wasn't around much anymore. _

_Picking up Addy from daycare today had been an issue; she hadn't been there. Which meant Dad was home early from his hunt. And that meant I was in deep shit. _

_Having to stay after school for detention was one thing, but not being there to pick up Addy from daycare… That was a complete breach of my father's trust. _

_Canley had been gone for two months now and slowly life was moving back into a definition of normality, a new normal. Slowly being the key word._

_Not that it really mattered. Dad was too involved hunting anything supernatural and Addy had turned into a little monster. Maybe now things would start looking up. About the only place she wasn't acting out was daycare; she loved going to school, that's what we called it. She had classmates to play with, was learning her shapes, colors, and numbers._

_A desperate scream made me reconsider the looking up part. _

_Addy, her pink leggings pulled down around her ankle and her green eyes flooding with tears, scrambled down the narrow hallway of the apartment. _

"_Cody!" She sobbed desperately as she ran behind my legs, grabbing the fabric of my jeans in her little fists. "Don't let him get me! Don't let him! Please, don't let him!"_

_I pushed my sister further behind myself before picking up the shotgun and pulling back the fore-end. Whatever bastard thought it was a good idea to touch my sister was going to pay. It didn't matter if it were a shapshifter, a ghost, a demon… Or Uncle John?_

"_What the hell?" I asked, looking at my angry uncle as he stumbled into the hall way. _

_He held up a finger and pointed at my trembling sister, "You and I, Young Lady," He said panting desperately out of anger. "Are due for a long talk about respect and responsibility."_

"_She's three." I reminded my uncle, giving him a concerned look. "Three." I reiterated, holding up three fingers._

"_And it's about time she started acting like it." He growled. "Cody, put that gun down."_

"_Yes sir." I nodded before flicking on the safety and leaning it against the wall. John glared at me until I handed him the gun; and he went and laid it on the table. He and dad had beaten weapon safety into my and Canley's heads from the time we were little. And then reiterated ALL the lectures when Addy had shown up; again and again and again. We thought our heads would explode._

"_Cody!" Addy whined, tugging on my pant leg. "Unca John tried puttin' me on the white monster._

_Holding in my laughter as I bent down and pulled up Addy's pants wasn't easy. Her face was so scared; I smiled at her comfortingly before wrapping my arms around her. I picked up my hysterical sister, hugging her to my chest before running my fingers though her tangled hair. _

"_Are you insane?" I whispered, or more like hissed, at my uncle. "She's_ petrified_ of the toilet!"_

"_Boy, watch your tone with me!" He told me in a no nonsense voice. "She needs to learn to face her fears!"_

"_It tried to eat me!" Addy lifted her head to look at me, her eyes were wide and her bottom lip was trembling. "I wan' my Poncho."_

_Uncle John just rolled his eyes. "Adeline, it did not try to eat you."_

"_Why'd it hiss and spit at me?" She demanded, crawling up my body so she could hug my neck in comfort._

"_It did not hiss at you," Uncle John pinched the bridge of his nose as he sighed in annoyance. "I flushed it."_

"_No." She said stubbornly, narrowing her eyes at our uncle. "It tried to eat me."_

_You had to respect my sister's fearlessness. She didn't even blink as Uncle John bent down, got into her face and matched her expression. _

"_You keep up this attitude and my hand's gonna have a long talk with your behind, understand?"_

_She opened her mouth to retaliate, most likely to make some sort of disrespectful come back that would undoubtedly earn her a spanking, but before she could I plopped her back on the ground I flashed her a warning look._

"_No!" She screamed, shaking her head with each 'no' as she stomped her little feet against the ground. "No, no, no, no, no!" _

"_Adeline…" Uncle John warned as I bent down and reached a hand out towards my sister. My fingers brushed against her skin and, as if she were some desperate animal, Addy's teeth clamped down on my hand._

"_Ouch!" I told her, bringing up my free hand and slapping her on the back of the head; not hard, but hard enough to make her let go._

_Her grip subsided and I looked down at my drool infested hand, noticing a small set of teeth marks. "That wasn't very nice." I snapped, causing tears to leak from her eyes. _

"_I don't wanna!" She screamed, tossing herself to the floor. Her tiny body hit the floor with a thud and, dear God, for such a small person she could make a hellova lota noise. Each second that passed her voice got loud and louder, she hit the floor with her fists as she kicked out with her legs, preventing me from getting anywhere near her unless I wanted to get hit. _

_There was no way to tell how long my sister lay there, screaming and kicking herself useless. Uncle John and I watched, letting her get it out of her system. Eventually it stopped completely and Addy just lay there, breathing heavily as she wiped her nose on a sleeve._

"_Now," Uncle John asked, his voice stern and impatient. "Are you done?"_

"_Yeeeeees." Addy whined._

"_Now you're going to stand up like a big girl," He began, only to be cut off by a sob from my sister._

"_I don't wanna." She complained, her eyes pooling up with tears. _

"_It's either that or a spanking." Uncle John told her. "Which one do you want?"_

_Addy continued to whine as she stood up to face my uncle, her hair tangled and her lips quivering. _

"_We're gonna give this potty training thing another shot, and this time you're not gonna bite me and run out of the bathroom, or throw a tantrum. Understand?" Uncle John knelt down in front of her, a serious expression on his face._

_And that's when my sister resorted to her most familiar war tactic, running. _

"_No!" She screamed as she ran into the living room. Before either of us could grab her, she ducked behind the couch. The space in between the furniture and the wall was too small for either of us to fit. "I don't want sit on it! You can't make me! No! No! No!"_

"_I'm going to count to three," Uncle John did his best to speak over my sisters continuous screeching. "And when I reach that number, you better be out here or there will be consequences." _

"_Noooooo!" She whined, pounding her tiny fists against the wall._

"_One." Uncle John warned. _

_Addy inched towards him; but, she still wasn't within his reach. _

"_Two." Addy was still screaming as she moved slightly closer. My head felt like it was going to explode; my ears were ringing from the high pitched screeching. Uncle John reached out his hand, his fingers brushed against her skin. "I'm warning you Adeline."_

_My sister squeaked at his tone and began to panic. That's where she made her first mistake. Addy tried to back up and slipped, her hands flew out behind her. Uncle John didn't even blink, instead he leaned forward, using his weight to push the enormous couch just far enough away from the wall so he could grab my sister's arm and forcibly pull her out._

"_Nooo!" She screamed, struggling as Uncle John pulled down her pants once again. _

_He shifted her to his waist, landing three slaps on her behind before growling, "Stop it Adeline!"_

_Addy whimpered but her struggling stopped as Uncle John walked into the bathroom, dropping Addy on the plastic toddler toilet seat cover before leaning against the wall opposite. _

_Addy huffed in annoyance, fingering the hem of her flowered dress as her lips were pulled into pout. Her eyes began to flicker, a tear slipped down her face and in a matter of second she was sobbing. "I don't wanna sit. It's gonna eat me!" She brought up her arm, using the back of her hand to wipe away her tears. "You mean, I want my daddy!"_

"_Adeline," Uncle John warned, "You know better than to pitch a fit like this! Now, neither of us are going anywhere until you finish going to the bathroom."_

"_I don't need ta pee!" She wiggled towards the edge of the seat, earning her a warning look from me._

"_What has gotten into you, Addy?" I asked my little sister in an incredulous voice. Yeah she had been acting out lately, but even for her this was bad._

"_Nuffin'!" She yelled refusing to meet either of our eyes. Nothing my ass._

"_Adeline." I warned as my sister squirmed under my gaze. _

"_She promised." Addy whispered so quietly I barley heard her. "She pwomised. She pwomised she'd teach me!" The tears started up again. "Why'd she pwomith?"_

_I moved to kneel in front of my sister, to comfort her and tell her everything would be alright; but Uncle John beat me to it._

"_Addy," He said, kneeling down in front of her. "Your sister may have left, but I promise you that we're not going anywhere. Canley left because she thought it was what she had to do. Even without your sister, we're still a family. Got it?"_

_She nodded understandingly. Still whimpering, and with tears leaking out of her eyes, she flashed Uncle John her infamous puppy dog eyes. "Do I still have to sit on the white monster?" _

"_It's either the toilet or bed, Kid." Uncle John told my sister sternly._

"_I think I wanna go to bed now." She told him as a yawn escaped her lips._

"_Alright Sweetheart." Uncle John picked her up and put on a fresh diaper before gently placing my sister in her bed. _

"_What are we going to do with her?" Uncle John sighed as he shut the door shut behind him._

"_I dunno." I shrugged. "Dad keeps saying she'll learn when she's ready to learn. Canley was the one who started teaching her, it's not exactly easy for her to have that change all of a sudden."_

_Sure enough, three weeks later I woke up at two in the morning and stumbled incoherently into the bathroom, only to come across Addy, wide awake and a smile on her face._

"_Uncle John was right!" She told me, clutching Poncho to her chest. "It really doesn't eat you when you feed it!" _

_And with that she skipped out of the bathroom, leaving me with a smile on my face and a disgusted feeling in my chest. I really needed to teach her about hand washing her hands. _

"'The white monster'?" Laughed Dean. "She was seriously afraid of toilets?"

"Oh yeah," Cody nodded. "But we all have weird fears. Strange phobias we can't explain."

Dean smiled. "Like Sammy and his clowns. Don't worry, Buddy," Dean clapped his brother on his back. "No Ronald Mcdonald around here!"

"Shut up Dean!" Sam snapped. "At least I'm not afraid of flying!"

"I don't have an issue with flying," Dean corrected. "It's the falling thing I'm having problems with."

"You have a better chance of getting struck by lightning then of getting into a plane crash."

"_You've _been struck by lightning." Dean reminded his brother. Sam just rolled his eyes.

"Don't feel bad, Dean." Cody smiled at his cousin. "Uncle Bobby here has issues with water."

"Boy," Uncle Bobby growled. "Shut your trap before I shut it for you."

"Come on Uncle Bobby," Cody chuckled. "I'm sure there are plenty of people, somewhere, some place, who are afraid of water too."

"Says the boy who shits his pants whenever there's a lightning storm."

"That's harsh Uncle Bobby, harsh." Smiled Cody as he took another sip of his beer. Glancing at his watch, Cody cringed. "I should probably be getting to bed." He sighed.

"It's not even one yet," Dean looked at Cody. "Planning on getting up at the crack of dawn with Addy?"

"Yep!" Cody stood and stretched. "Someone needs to make sure she's not slacking off."

"Yeaaaaah," Knowing Addy, she'd work for the first ten minutes before getting distracted by something random. "Why don't I get up with her tomorrow?" Dean suggested. "Adam needs an attitude adjustment anyway so we might as well make a day of it. Addy, Adam and a crap load of scrap metal… Oh the possibilities!" Dean smiled.

Not that it mattered. By the time Dean went to wake the teens in the morning, they were both gone.


	16. Christmas Special

**Hi everyone. Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. I could go into detail about why I haven't have time to write, but honestly, so many things have come up in the past couple months that that writing hasn't even been an option. I've lost two family members, my brothers been hospitalized due to injuries a LOT and my grandmother's Alzheimer has gotten significantly worse. Here's a little 'gift' (granted it's a day late, my bad) of a Christmas Special to let ya'll know how thankful I am that you're still sticking with me. Happy holidays!**

**PS. This isn't betaed... Hope it makes sense and doesn't have to many mistakes. Oh, and it's 8 months in the future from where I currently am in the story. The next chapter I post will be back to the normal time line.  
**

* * *

And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy–the Son of God. ~ Luke 1:35

**December 24, 2009**

Six thousand, seven hundred and thirty five. Six thousand, seven hundred and thirty six…

Addy sat up, stretching her stiff back before stealing a glance at the motel room clock. It was seven. She had been by herself for over six hours now and, to be honest, she wasn't loving it. Not exactly a person's ideal way of spending Christmas Eve, that's for sure. Not that she usually minded being by herself, but ever since the whole 'unleashing of Lucifer' she hadn't seen a whole lot of Sam, Dean or Adam and, whenever they were around, they were usually drunk or sleeping.

Even Riley had made it a habit of avoiding her. Granted, Riles claimed it was because she was busy 'playing her part in the prevention of the apocalypse', but Addy wasn't stupid. It had been a lonely couple of months. Hell, a lonely year. Ever since…

No, she wasn't going to think about it. She wouldn't think about it. It was Christmas Eve God damn it! She was going to enjoy herself. Whatever that meant. She wasn't sure anymore. Rather, she just didn't know anymore.

Whatever. Besides, she was fairly sure that when Dean had told her 'You leave the motel room tonight without one of us and I'll beat you so bad your mother will feel it' he _really_ had meant 'Sure, go ahead and leave. Just be safe, smart and home before anyone can figure out you were gone.'

Ok, so it was _kinda_ a stretch. But seriously, she was sixteen, not six. She got the whole people wanted her dead thing, but people wanted to kill her all the time. She missed being normal. Well, her version of normal. Normalcy had never really been a part of her life.

Before slipping on her winter boots, Addy scribbled down a small, precautionary note telling Dean that she had gone out. If he wanted to spend his entire night out with Adam getting wasted, she wasn't going to stop him. Hell, she wasn't even going to complain. She just wanted things to go back to 'normal' and she was hoping that if he got back, the note would stop him from freaking because she wasn't there. But that probably wasn't going to happen. Ever.

Sam was somewhere hunting something. He had been distant lately, silent, especially towards Dean and Adam. Addy and he had always been close, but lately that wasn't really working out.

They were falling apart at a time where most families came together. Christmas. It was the one holiday her Dad had actually made her go to church for. And today was the one day she dreaded more than any other… Christmas Eve. Even Cody had kept with the tradition, taking her to church to learn about stuff she honestly had no interest in. Last year it had been Riley, her older brother and her dad who had taken her to a candle light visual to honor the birth of Christianity's savior.

Note the Christianity thing, Addy wasn't buying any crap that the bible was preaching.

Still, there was something about the fact that she just wasn't going to church this year that was bugging her. Her first year of true freedom and she was already crawling back into the trap of 'God almighty's plan for her'. Yeah, Cody was still mad that she had punched the pastor of a church they were visiting for saying that to her when she was twelve. Well whatever, he could deal.

Tradition. There was something about it that she just couldn't shake. Did it matter that she hated church? No, it just mattered that it had been a part of her life for fifteen years prior and, after everything she had given up the past year, she wasn't about to lose this.

The cold winter air stabbed against her skin as she opened the door before locking it behind her. Louisiana was supposed to be waaaaaaaaaaaaarm in the winter. Last time Addy had checked, three degrees wasn't warm. At all. In fact, it was below freezing. If she wanted to enjoy a quality winter, she'd go to northern New York, or Wisconsin or hell, even New Hampshire.

'So,' She wondered as she continued down the street, 'Why the HELL had Dean decided to go to New Orleans then?' It was cold here, freakishly cold for a southern winter. Well… At least in her opinion. Stupid fake winter, fake smiles and fake family. Ok, so her family wasn't exactly fake but they were beginning to act like it. Whatever sense of family they had had in the past year had vanished as soon as Lucifer had risen. And it sucked. Majorly.

By the time Addy found a church that was still holding a mass, it was eight. She walked up the giant stone steps, kicking her boots against the door to get any extra water off of them before opening up the giant oak doors and walking in. The doors shut with a loud bang, but none of the bent heads lifted to see who the new comer was. Something that Addy was grateful for. Even with her hair newly dyed a dark shade of chestnut, she still managed to attract an uncomfortable amount of attention.

Staring in awe at the flickering candles eliminating the hall, she made her way to an empty pew and bowed her head. She had never been to a Catholic service before. Some Methodist, Baptist and even Lutheran services, but never a Catholic one. The church itself was the picturesque version of a medieval cathedral complete with stone walls and more stain glass then she had ever seen.

A middle aged priest stood at the front of the room, addressing the congregation with a raised hand. His words went into one of her ears and out the other. She wasn't interested in anything he had to say, but rather the familiarity of the situation. Her body was relaxed, still not completely relaxed, but she wasn't as on edge. She wasn't worried about demons coming out of nowhere and hurting her or her family. It was just her, a room full of complete strangers that weren't supernatural… And God.

Whatever that meant.

"And now my brothers and sisters," The priest, his voice carried across the room, demanding everyone's attention. Even Addy couldn't help but look up at him. "Here, on the eve of our savior's birth, I ask you all to remember the reason we are gathered here. To honor the sacrifice of Jesus and the gift he gave us. The gift of eternal salvation. Good night," He said, flashing a small smile and a wave before the congregation dispersed.

Addy didn't move. She couldn't. She wasn't ready to give up this feeling of safety, of goodness. Not to mention that, even with the draft, it was much warmer in here. It wasn't until she was completely alone in the sanctuary that Addy stood, walking over to the rack of prayer candles before pulling out her lighter.

Reaching out she lit four candles. One for her mother, one for her father, one for Uncle John and one for-

"Hello there my child."

Jumping Addy whipped around, her hand instantly flying towards her belt, towards her knife. "S-sorry," she shook her head. Stupid priest. Old people weren't supposed to be able to sneak up on her. _'But this one did,' _her mind whispered as she tried to ignore it. There was something different about this man. Not bad different, just different. "I'm just…" She trailed off. It was pretty obvious what she was doing.

"Lost your fair share of people, haven't you?" He asked, looking at her red cheeks and the dark circles under her eyes. She looked young, but he knew that her age had nothing to do with her maturity.

"I've lost enough." Addy responded, her fingers brushing against the steal candle holders. "More than enough."

"God works in mysterious ways," He nodded sadly as Addy shoot an angry look at him.

"God doesn't work. God watches and God laughs as we suffer." She snapped back. "If he does exist that is."

He just nodded. "Your frustration is understandable. Life isn't supposed to be easy. But you're here, aren't you?"

"Yes," She whispered back apologetically. This man wasn't judging her for what she believed, it wasn't here place to judge him either. "I don't know how or why, but I am."

"Everything happens for a reason Adeline," He reminded her.

"Yeah," She nodded. "That I do know. But it doesn't make things easier."

"No, it most certainly does not. But, know you are not alone. That you have family, friends and others who care about you and would die for you."

She shifted uncomfortably. She hated talking about herself, but she nodded anyway. "Yes sir."

A wave of comfort surrounded Addy's body in a way it hadn't in a very long time. Even when the door of the church flew open a moment later and Castiel stood there, his face contorted in anger, Addy's warmth didn't fade. The angel nodded his head towards the exit and Addy got the message: We're leaving. Now!

She gave him a nod before turning back to the priest and extending her hand. "Thank you,  
she told him, taking the hand he offered her in return.

"I am here for you Adeline," He answered in return. "Always remember that."

"Ok…" She said slowing and couldn't help but think, '_Weird answer Buddy...'. _She gave him a smile and a small nod of thanks before making her way over to the Angel.

Cas' face was completely emotionless as he grabbed Addy's arm and frog marched her out of the church.

"Bet this was a lot easier when I was still five feet tall, 'eh Cassie?" Addy smiled up at the angel.

He slapped her upside the head.

"Not nice," She snapped.

Castiel stopped walking and whipped Addy around to face him. "Do you think this is funny? After all I've given up for you? For your family? And you risk it all because you can't stay still for a couple of hours?"

"It's more than that Castile," Her voice dropped all hint of playfulness. "And you know that. After what's happened in the last year I both have earned and deserve your trust and respect. You know who I am, you know what I am, and you know that I'm more then capable of defending myself if I need to."

"This isn't about what you can and can't do. This is about the issues which were addressed last year. After what happened with-"

"Don't," Addy warned. "Bring that up. I did learn my lesson, but we're not going to talk about it."

"Very well," Castiel said, reaching out a hand and trying to press it against her forehead.

"Wait, no, please?" Addy said, dodging his fingers. "I wanna walk back." She noticed his uncertainty. "Fresh air's good for the soul. Besides, you keep flying everywhere and you're gonna start to get flabby." She flashed him a smile, stretching her arms up in the air before she started to walk in the direction of the motel.

"It's the other way." Castiel said softly before adding in a small chuckle. She'd lose her head if it weren't attached. He stood there, waiting for her to turn before he followed behind her, close enough to observe, far enough to give her a sense of independence.

"Ya know," She stopped walking, waiting for him to catch up with her. "I don't mind the whole 'guardian angel' slash 'secret ninja' thing today. It's actually nice having someone to look over my shoulder and point me in the right direction every once in a while."

"It's part of the job description," He said emotionlessly.

Addy still smiled, wrapping her arm around his, like she used to do all the time with Cody. The angel stiffened, not sure what to do.

"It's not like I'm going to bite you," Addy rolled her eyes. "Just trying to stay warm. Kinda freaking cold here."

"Where is your jacket?" He asked.

"It doesn't fit anymore." She admitted with a shrug. One of the downfalls of growing two and a half inches in eight months. "And I haven't gotten a new one yet."

Cas stopped walking. Sighing Addy turned around. "Look," She said apologetically. "I'm sorry I don't have one. I'll go out tomorrow and get one."

The angel didn't hesitate, he just took his coat off and handed it to Addy. "I do not get cold. Therefore I have no need for a coat."

"I'm fine Cas," She muttered, but he still didn't move. Sighing she rolled her eyes, grabbing the coat before shrugging it on. She shoved her hands into the pockets of the jackets before continuing to walk.

Addy didn't say anything as she made her way down the streets. Her fingers brushed against a small charm connected to a leather thong. She pulled it out, looking at Dean's necklace that he had let the angel barrow three months ago.

"Dean's gonna be _pissed_ Cas," She said, rolling the charm around in her hand. "I dunno what you did to this thing, but it's not supposed to be a flash light. Turn the friggin' obnoxious glowyness off."

The angel looked at Addy, then to the charm in her hand. He picked it up, his eyes glowing in wonder. The necklace was special, just like he had told Dean in the hospital. The one whom he searched for had been close. But, as Castiel knew all too well, you don't find God. God finds you. "I have business I must attend to, are you able to make it back by yourself?"

With a small sigh Addy rubbed the bridge of her nose. "'Course I can. I'll keep track of your trench coat, you know where I am when you want it back."

He didn't bother answer. Or even looking at her. Addy blinked, and Cas was gone, leaving her alone again.

Suddenly the winter air felt so much colder. She wrapped the jacket around her tightly, continuing to walk as she looked up at the sky.

Maybe this was what Christmas was really about. Not the whole family, friends and gift thing. But the discovery of your own self worth, your realization of what matters. And right now, for Addy, the only thing that really mattered was the fact that she had somewhere to go. People, no matter how dysfunctional and angry they may be, to help her no matter the situation.

"I'm home!" She yelled, unlocking the motel room door before pushing it open. "And don't worry, I'm breathing, I'm alive and I didn't miss my curfew."

"What curfew?" Dean asked, looking up from his place at the kitchen table. "Last time I checked 'don't go out' meant, don't go out. Not get back by a certain time."

"Sorry," She said, meaning it. "I kinda lost something."

"Well," Dean said, putting down the gun he was cleaning. "Did you at least find whatever it was?"

"I don't know," She answered honestly. "I'll let you know."


End file.
